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India's young batting sensation Tilak Varma was cock-a-hoop after marking his County Championship debut with a sizzling century for Hampshire against Essex in Chelmsford on Tuesday.
Tilak, who came out to bat at number four, stood out with his impeccable technique and returned unbeaten on 98 after stumps were called on the second day. In the opening minutes of day three, Tilak pushed the ball into the gap and scurried for a double to raise his bat to celebrate a hard-fought hundred. However, Tilak's euphoria was cut short by South African off-spinner Simon Harmer, who punched the 22-year-old's return ticket on 100 from 241 deliveries laced with 11 fours and three towering maximums. Apart from his rollicking century, Tilak forged a 133-run partnership for the fifth wicket with England's seasoned all-rounder Liam Dawson, who relished his 18th first-class century. Throughout his stay at the crease, Tialk's straight-out-of-the-book cover drive, jinking out of the crease to heave the ball powerfully past the boundary rope, kept the spectators enchanted. Before his eye-catching exploits in the County Championship, Tilak boasts three tons for Hyderabad, a solitary three-digit score for India A against New Zealand and a century in last season's Duleep Trophy. The promising southpaw made his first-class debut in 2019, but he has struck all his centuries in the last three years. Tilak has joined the Rose and Crown for four County Championship matches, which began with their ongoing contest against Essex. He arrived in County Cricket after a lukewarm season with the Mumbai Indians in the 18th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. He pulled the curtains down on the 18th season with 343 runs from 16 matches at 31.18 while striking at 138.30. He has yielded 1499 runs for the franchise in 54 matches in the cash-rich league, with eight fifties at an average of 37.47 and a strike rate of 144.41. In the international circuit, Tilak has represented India 29 times, and 25 of those have been in T20Is, during which he has amassed 749 runs laced with two centuries, which came in successive innings against South Africa in November 2024, and three fifties. (ANI)
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