Tilak Varma's 45‑ball century
- Tilak Varma smashed a 45‑ball century as Mumbai Indians posted a 200‑run total against Gujarat Titans. (indiatoday.in) - MI then beat GT by 99 runs, with Ashwani Kumar taking a four‑wicket haul in the same match. ( ) - The result lifted Mumbai from the bottom into seventh and meaningfully improved their net run rate ahead of the business end. (sports.yahoo.com)
Tilak Varma hauled Mumbai Indians out of a mid-innings slump with an unbeaten 101 off 45 balls, then watched their bowlers flatten Gujarat Titans by 99 runs in Ahmedabad. (iplt20.com) Mumbai were 96 for 4 after 12.3 overs on April 20 when Naman Dhir fell for 45, and they still reached 199 for 5 because Tilak made 101 not out at a strike rate above 224. Kagiso Rabada took 3 for 33 for Gujarat, but Tilak hit eight fours and seven sixes in his first Indian Premier League hundred. (espncricinfo.com) The hundred came in 45 balls, which ESPNcricinfo said matched Sanath Jayasuriya’s 2008 mark for the quickest century by a Mumbai Indians batter in the league. Tilak finished the innings unbeaten and was named player of the match. (espncricinfo.com) The chase never settled. Gujarat lost Jos Buttler, Shubman Gill and Glenn Phillips inside the powerplay, then folded for 100 in 15.5 overs with Washington Sundar top-scoring with 26. (espncricinfo.com) Ashwani Kumar, playing his first match of the season, took 4 for 24 in four overs, while Mitchell Santner returned 2 for 16 and Allah Ghazanfar 2 for 17. Mumbai’s win ended a four-match losing streak. (iplt20.com) The result changed the table immediately. Yahoo Sports reported that Mumbai moved from the bottom of the standings to seventh place, with the 99-run margin giving their net run rate a needed lift. (sports.yahoo.com) That swing matters in a league season where teams bunch tightly around the playoff line and net run rate often separates sides level on points. As of April 21, the official Indian Premier League table lists Mumbai in seventh after 30 matches in the season. (iplt20.com) For Tilak, the innings also reset the conversation around Mumbai’s middle order. India Today reported that his century came after a lean run and followed a visible mid-pitch chat with captain Hardik Pandya during the innings. (indiatoday.in) Mumbai’s total stopped one short of 200, but the match still turned on the same number: 45. That was all Tilak needed to reach three figures and give Mumbai a result that looked out of reach when they were four down. (espncricinfo.com)
