Playing his first-ever international match, India batter Tilak Varma made his presence felt on the field via a spectacular diving catch to send West Indies batter Johnson Charles back to the pavilion in the ongoing first T20I at the Brian Lara Stadium. Varma, who has expressed admiration for former India batter Suresh Raina on several occasions, reminded fans of his fielding prowess on a cricket ground with his effort.
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With spinner Yuzvendra Chahal picking a couple of wickets in the penultimate over of the powerplay, spinner Kuldeep Yadav also dismissed a batter in his first over of the match primarily because of Varma’s athleticism. Third West Indian batter to be dismissed, it refrained the home team from building a solid start especially after former captain Nicholas Pooran attacked the Indian spinners from the word go.
Tilak Varma Grabs First-Rate Catch Like Suresh Raina On T20I Debut
It all happened on the third delivery of the eighth over when Charles aimed to clear the mid-wicket boundary against Yadav. However, an archetype slog lacking optimum timing led to the right-handed batter’s dismissal.
Fielding at deep mid-wicket, Varma covered quite a few distance towards his left before timing his dive to perfection. The 20-year old player eventually tumbled to grab the ball cleanly.
Former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop, who has a tendency to be joyous over the success of rookie cricketers irrespective of their team, was calling the proceedings when Varma contributed for the first time at the highest level.
” .”@TilakV9
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.#INDvWIAdFreeonFanCode #WIvIND pic.twitter.com/1O9KQsBOOx— FanCode (@FanCode) August 3, 2023
Tilak Varma Idolises Suresh Raina
While the exact match remains unknown, Varma was one of the ball boys in one of the two Chennai Super Kings Champions League Twenty20 2014 matches in Hyderabad. Having watched Raina do his thing for the first time in front of his eyes, Varma had become an instant fan of the Chinna Thala.
“I met Suresh Raina for the first time in CLT20 when I was a ball boy. I always wanted to be like him,” Varma said in a video posted by MITV during Indian Premier League 2022.
With him getting to meet Raina in person last year, Varma opened up on how the latter texts him after every match. “When I met him last year, I told this to him. He advised me a lot and that helped me a lot. Now, he texts me after every match, it feels so good,” Varma had added.
