T20 is increasingly becoming a format where strike rates for batsmen at the top matter a lot more than before. Under such circumstances, is an anomaly — he is an innings builder and not someone who dominates from ball one.
He reads the situation and then turns it around in a short time. That shift — from control to acceleration — is a clear pattern in how he bats in the shortest format.
The latest example was during ’s previous match against the . The southpaw, who walked out after the sixth over with MI tottering at 44/3, did not break stride in the first half of his innings, focussing more on strike rotation to be on 19 runs in 22 balls.
Then came the moment that turned the narrative. Naman Dhir, who looked good to get a bigger score, fell in the 13th over for 45 in 32 balls. His dismissal forced a change in tempo to Tilak’s innings. From 19 off 22 balls, he surged to 82 runs in his next 23 balls to march his way to a commanding century, the joint fastest for MI with Sanath Jayasuriya in 2008.
From steady to unstoppable 😮🔥’s maiden TATA hundred comes in style and what a way to do it.💪🏻
That second-half acceleration from Tilak Varma was unreal . 👀🔥 2026 | | LIVE NOW 👉
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia)
It was staggering hitting from a batsman who was coming into the game with poor run of form. The clarity in his approach had come from speaking to a talismanic figure in the team.
“I was speaking especially to Rohit (Sharma) bhai. He was telling me, ‘Tu khel le matlab 15-20 ball khel le aur tujhe pataa hai tera capability kya hai (You play 15-20 balls, you know what you are capable of). 15 ball khel le, uske baad tu kya karega, hum ko, sab ko pataa hai, (We know what you can do after playing 15 balls)” Tilak said in the pre-match press conference on Wednesday.
“Situation mat dekh, kuch mat dekh. Pehla 15 ball tu khel le uske baad jo hoga result, woh baad main dekhte hai (Don’t think about the match situation, just play 15 balls first). That gave me confidence. Once I played 15 balls, I knew that I could start hitting now,” Tilak added.
A similar template has defined his other performances as well, like his 84 off 46 balls against in IPL 2023. Walking in the sixth over, with MI reeling at 20/3, Tilak made a mere 18 runs in his first 12 balls. No urgency, with a focus on rotating strike with the odd boundary in between.
However, once that base was established, the left-hander put the foot on the accelerator, galloping his way to a half-century in 32 balls. The method to his madness is not just limited to MI colours. The southpaw has adopted the same approach while batting for India, even in high-octane matches.
In the Asia Cup 2025 final against Pakistan, the change in pace to his innings was subtle but effective. He made 69 in 53 balls, staying in control rather than forcing the issue. The half-century came in 41 balls, but when the walls threatened to close, he upped the ante. He took calculated risks against the likes of Haris Rauf, scoring 19 runs from his final 12 deliveries. The surge was not dramatic, but it shifted the pressure and won India the game.
Tilak’s style of innings building in a format where four and six hitting is becoming the norm has been built by years of hard work in understanding how to bat at the top. His childhood coach, Salaam Bayash, pointed to that clearly while speaking about the Gujarat Titans’ innings.
“We would plan to bat according to the conditions. We talk before every match, and he speaks about situations, match conditions and how he has had to move from number three to middle order. So I suggest that he read the conditions before going after the bowling,” Bayash said.
He also highlighted the specific moment of acceleration in that knock.
“Naman Dhir was batting well in the last game against , so Tilak was focussing on singles and twos. When he got out, that’s when Tilak started to go after the bowling. The plan is to finish and stay till the end, and how to pace the innings.”
What sets him apart is not just the ability to accelerate, but to time it to perfection. He rarely forces the game early and instead, reads conditions and then picks his moment. The next step is developing consistency in that transition. If he can bring the second phase a touch earlier and more often, he could be deciding the result in a lot more matches.
