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SAvIND, 4th T20I: TILAK CARNAGE ensures ABSOLUTE CINEMA as India seal it 3-1!

By Mumbai Indians

Even the best in business might fall short of words to narrate what we have just witnessed at Johannesburg, but we would try and give our best shot!

Winning the toss for the first time in the series, our Mr. 360° elected to bat first and boy, what a decision it proved to be!

The evening was all about the pair of centurions Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma, who capitalised on some shoddy fielding by the opposition to play Chain Kulii Ki Main Kulii movie in real life… Nostalgia much, eh, Paltan!?

The Proteas were thoroughly punished for the dropped chances as Team India amassed a whopping 283/1 in 20 overs. In reply, South Africa succumbed under pressure to concede an embarrassing defeat.

Ready to rewind the historic night? LESSSSS GOOOOOO!

It's Tod Fod o'clock!

The 73-run partnership between Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma in the powerplay was only a trailer of what’s in store for the fans.

The duo started with an aggressive approach on a wicket tailor-made for batters and provided the perfect start for their side.

Although Abhishek Sharma lost his wicket on the penultimate ball of the powerplay, the Indian cricket team were well positioned for another huge total, which they eventually recorded!

Aamchya Tilak bhau cha vijay aso!

Riding <very> high on confidence after his maiden international ton, our 22-year-old superstar looked completely unstoppable with his breathtaking strokeplay.

The left-handed batter began his latest TV show playing Khatron Ke Khiladi in the African Safari!

Dealing only in boundaries, Tilak Varma raced to his half-century in just 22 balls, smashing four fours and five skyrocketing maximums. Hold on… It didn’t halt there!

He continued to toy with the hosts’ bowlers and made them look totally clueless en route to his second century on the trot, which he achieved in just 19 balls after completing his fifty.

An unbeaten 120 off 47 balls, graced with nine fours and 10 sixes, powered the Men in Blue to a stupendous total of 283/1.

Samson ke aage koi bowler tik sakta hai kya!

𝟏𝟎𝟗* 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝟓𝟔 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 • 𝐒𝐢𝐱 𝟒𝐬 • 𝐍𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝟔𝐬 • 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝟏𝟗𝟒.𝟔𝟒 – These cracking numbers simply define what the wicket-keeper batter has pulled off in Jo’burg.

While Varmaji was on song at one end, Samson played yet another devastating knock to put behind the blues of the previous two encounters.

Whatever the bowlers threw at him… it was sent packing to the boundary ropes in no time! One maximum even hit a fan in the stands, to which Samson apologised quickly.

Furthermore, he became the first-ever player to register three T20I centuries in a calendar year, concluding his last international match of 2024 in some style.

Team total of 283 = Job 99.99% done!

What more could have gone wrong for the Aiden Markram-led side? Finding themselves reeling at 10/4 within three overs of the chase.

Arshdeep Singh and Kung Fu Pandya joined the party with a combined haul of four wickets to pile misery on South Africa.

Thereafter, Tristan Stubbs and David Miller did try to salvage something out of the encounter with an 86-run partnership. However, the damage was already done.

The spinners wrapped up the proceedings by cleaning up the tail, guiding India to an emphatic 135-run victory.

 

Brief scores: India 283/1 in 20 overs (Tilak Varma 120*, Sanju Samson 109*; Lutho Sipamla 1/58) beat South Africa 148/10 in 18.2 overs (Tristan Stubbs 43; Arshdeep Singh 3/20, Axar Patel 2/6) by 135 runs.