'I was under a lot of pressure' - Tilak Varma reveals mindset during crunch moments in second T20I clash against England

Tilak Varma’s impactful batting during the second T20I of the series against England in Chennai, helped India to a nail-biting two-wicket win, securing a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. The southpaw's match-winning knock of 72* off 55 balls, including four fours and five sixes, handed the hosts a spectacular win from the jaws of English.

Chasing 166, India’s top-order failed to fire as wickets fell regularly. At one point, the side was struggling 78/5, with the middle order collapsing under pressure. However, it was Tilak who stepped up and led the recovery. The youngster revealed the thoughts going through his mind as the wickets were falling around him.

"Actually, I was under a lot of pressure. Arshdeep was saying, 'I will hit it. I will hit it. I have to give a single.' So, I thought, on this wicket, Archer can't get you out. On this wicket, Adil Rashid will because his ball was moving a lot. I knew that Arshdeep would try to hit the spinner. I said, 'No, bhai.' If Arshdeep wanted to play, he should play Archer. He said he wouldn't play Archer, so I said, 'Okay, I will play," Tilak said on Stars Sports Cricket Live.

Tilak Varma also spoke about the importance of handling the pressure from the lower order, mentioning his discussions with Arshdeep and Ravi Bishnoi who played key roles in the final moments and managed to find boundaries to reduce the runs required.

"I told him to be ready with his defence. 'Whether you get a bouncer or not, you just have to stop him. If you see him behind, bend down.' So, I don't know what he did. He said, 'If I get a bouncer, I will hit him from above.' He said a lot of things. But whatever happened, I am happy that he got a boundary off Archer. And the best thing to see was Ravi Bishnoi's batting. He has done a very good job in nets. He and Varun Chakravarthy did a very good job in batting," he further added.

Those two fours were very important: Tilak

As Team India got closer to victory, it was Tilak Varma who orchestrated the chase. Batting with Bishnoi in the final overs, Tilak changed his approach, opting for quick singles and rotating the strike, ensuring the pressure doesn't increase.

Also Read: Tilak Varma surpasses Virat Kohli for most runs in T20Is without being dismissed

"I had a lot of faith in both of them that they could play. I told them, 'If you want to hit, you have to hit in the gaps. If you get a single, there is no problem. If you want to bend down on the bouncer, you have to play like Test cricket.' So, actually, Ravi Bishnoi played well. If you see, he hit a flick from the front. A lot of credit goes to him too. Actually, those two fours were very important," Tilak concluded.

In the final over, with just six runs needed, Tilak hit a crisp drive past cover to seal the victory, ensuring that India won by two wickets with four balls remaining and was later awarded the Player of the Match for his heroics.