Tilak Varma Slams Maiden Ton Against Proteas

India were put in to bat by South African captain Aiden Markram, and were rocked early when Sanju Samson was dismissed off the second ball of the innings to register his second duck in a row, bringing Tilak Varma to the crease.

In partnership with Abhishek Sharma, Tilak took India to 70-1 by the end of the Powerplay. After Abhishek, and then Suryakumar Yadav, perished in quick succession, he guided India through the innings, reaching his half-century in the 13th over, off 32 balls.

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Thereafter, he accelerated in some style, his next 13 balls yielding 37 runs as he took down Keshav Maharaj and Gerald Coetzee. Tilak crossed the three-figure mark with a boundary straight down the ground off Lutho Sipamla in the 19th over, getting there off 51 deliveries. He finished unbeaten on 107, off 56 balls.

It was Tilak’s first century in T20I cricket, and in fact his first in international cricket. At the age of 22 years and 5 days, he is the second-youngest Indian to do so.

Youngest centurions in men’s T20Is, full list

The youngest Indian to score a T20I century is Yashasvi Jaiswalwho did so at the age of 21 years and 279 days against Nepal during the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. Tilak is the second-youngest man to score a T20I century against an ICC Full Member nation, with Afghanistan’s Hazratullah Zazai the youngest thanks to his 162* against Ireland in 2019, aged 20 years and 337 days.

France’s Gustav Mckeon is the youngest player ever to score a century in men’s T20Is, having done so for the first time at 18 years 280 days against Switzerland in July 2022. He followed it up with another century two days later, which also makes him one of only four players to score back-to-back T20I centuries.

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