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

India's left-hand batter, Tilak Varma registered his name in record books by surpassing Virat Kohli’s previous feat for the most runs in T20Is without being dismissed. The youngster achieved this during India’s narrow two-wicket victory against England in the second T20I at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium on January 25.

Chasing a target of 166, Tilak anchored the Men in Blue's innings with an unbeaten 72 off 55 balls, which included five sixes and four boundaries. This knock took his T20I tally to 318 runs across four innings without being dismissed, breaking the previous record of 271 runs held by New Zealand’s Mark Chapman. Following Chapman are Shreyas Iyer (240), Aaron Finch (240), and David Warner (239) on the all-time list.

In doing so, the 22-year-old also surpassed Kohli’s record for the most runs by an Indian batter in four consecutive T20I innings. The 36-year-old's tally of 258 had been the benchmark, followed by efforts from Sanju Samson (257), Rohit Sharma (253), and Shikhar Dhawan (252).

The match itself was a nail-biter. England, batting first, managed to put a total of 165/9, with contributions from Jos Buttler (45) and a late flourish from Brydon Carse (31 off 17 balls). For India Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel took two wickets each.

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Tilak Varma smashed Jofra Archer for four towering sixes

The host's chase, however, was far from smooth. Despite a strong start from Abhishek Sharma, the middle order failed under pressure from England’s bowlers. Samson and Suryakumar Yadav were dismissed early, and wickets fell at regular intervals.

Tilak, however, rotated the strike and capitalized on loose deliveries. Notably, he smashed Jofra Archer for four sixes in his quota of four overs. Archer conceded 60 runs in a forgettable outing.

Tilak was supported by Washington Sundar, with the duo adding 38 runs for the sixth wicket. In the final over, India required six runs to win. Tilak sealed the game with a boundary off the second ball, ensuring a 2-0 series lead for India.