Ahead of the third T20I against South Africa, India’s left-handed batter Tilak Varma said being mentally strong allows a batter to succeed at any position in the batting order. India’s batting flexibility left everyone puzzled when Axar Patel was sent out to bat at number three in a chase of 214 in New Chandigarh.
But Axar struggled to get rhythm and fell for a run-a-ball 21, as India fell short by 51 runs. Amidst the likes of Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav not getting big runs, Tilak gave India something to cheer by making a 34-ball 62.
“Everyone is flexible except openers. Everyone is flexible and open to bat anywhere. I am up for batting at 3, 4, 5, 6, or anywhere. Where the team prefers for me to bat, I am up for it. Everyone knows that they are flexible in every batting order. If you are mentally strong, you can do well in any number,” said Tilak in the pre-match press conference.
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Asked about the Indian team’s decision to send Axar at three ahead of recognised batters, including himself, Tilak said, “It depends. As you can see, Axar Patel has already done the same thing in the World Cup, and he has done well in that position as well. It keeps happening in one odd game. It depends on the situation. In a tactical situation, if the team feels that it is the best in that situation, then anyone goes ahead, keeping in mind the team’s interests.”
“Ups and downs happen, but the same player has done that in the World Cup as well. I am ready to bat anywhere for the team, and I will always try to do my best for the team. The other players are doing the same, and as I said, everything is flexible, and we are making the decisions that we feel will benefit the team.”
The HPCA Stadium has shown a trend of producing high-scoring pitches, and Tilak felt batting first or chasing won’t matter much at the venue. “I have played previously here in the Under-19 series for India. After that, I am coming here now, and we are just going to watch the wicket. I think there will be a high-scoring wicket here. We will play with a positive intent,” he said.
“In the first two matches, the one who bats first has won. Because the weather is cold everywhere, there is a little bit of seam and swing for the bowlers. So I think there is not much difference in batting first and second. Unfortunately, we collapsed in the last game, but we will play with the same intent.”
“Whatever we have been doing in the last 15-20 matches, we will play with the same intent and get good results. So, I would say, it won’t matter much if it’s the first or second batting because the match starts at 7 pm and that is the time when dew starts to form,” he added.
Tilak signed off by saying the Indian team has prepared well for countering the dew expected to come early in the game.
“There was a due in ODIs as well, and we have mentally prepared for it in practice. We don’t have the toss result in our hands, but we are mentally preparing for the dew. We have practised before, and the ball does get a little wet. But we have prepared for whatever we can get in the game during the practice.”