Tilak Varma scored a composed knock on Tuesday against the West Indies to help India win the first game of the T20I leg of the tour and keep the series alive.
However, controversy erupted when Hardik Pandya smashed a six to win the game when Varma was stuck at the other end on 49 with the team requiring two runs from 14 balls.
Netizens on social media were unhappy with Pandya and were of the opinion that the Indian skipper should have let the young left-hander get to his 50-run milestone. Former cricketer Aakash Chopra on his YouTube channel concurred with the opinion.
Former South African captain AB de Villiers and cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle has differed from the opinion of netizens.
“I am puzzled by the discussion around Tilak Varma missing out on a 50. It isn’t a landmark, in fact other than a century (which is rare), there are no landmarks in T20 cricket. We are far too obsessed with individual achievement within a team sport. I don’t believe 50s should be recorded in individual stats in T20 cricket. If you have made enough runs quickly enough (avg and SR), that is all that matters,” Bhogle Tweeted.
To this, de Villiers replied, “Thank you thank you thank you. Finally someone says it!”
Varma scored his maiden half-century in the second T20I and became the first Indian player to cross the 30-run mark in all of his first three innings.
The Mumbai Indians player looked unphased by international cricket and looked composed and technically sound against the bowlers.
The 20-year-old showed a lot of maturity when he stitched a 87-run partnership with vice-captain Suryakumar Yadav in the third T20I. Courtesy of the partnership India goes to Florinda for the fourth T20I with the series alive.
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