The ACC Asia Cup final saw yet another India vs Pakistan encounter, the third in this tournament alone, and it was Tilak Varma, who stood tall as the dust settled.
After the match though, there was time for more controversy, as the victors were not handed the trophy after they refused to collect it from ACC President (and Pakistan’s Interior Minister), Mohsin Naqvi. The Indian team had refused to exchange any pleasantries from Pakistani players and representatives in the tournament, which was being played just months after the Pahalgam terror attack.
Having said that, Tilak Varma did share an image with “a trophy” on his official Instagram handle (@tilakvarma9), accompanied by his captain, Suryakumar Yadav. Just that this was a trophy was an emoji plastered over the picture.
The post was captioned – “When the game is done, only the champions will be remembered and not the picture of a 🏆“
Tilak anchors India’s Asia Cup final chase
India’s opening batsman, Abhishek Sharma (highest run scorer of the tournament) was expected to be in the spotlight following his past heroics and blistering form.
Given that the target was just a modest 148, the chase seemed to be a cake walk. However, Abhishek, Shubman Gill, and Suryakumar Yadav departed within the Power Play, barely scoring any runs, which put India under great pressure.
In stepped Tilak Varma, who with a valiant 69 off 53 anchored the chase to perfection, rotating the strike on regular basis, and hitting boundaries whenever possible. It should be noted that Pakistan had the chance to dismiss him with a run out, but that missed opportunity turned out to be fatal.
In the end, Tilak Varma walked away from the Asia Cup final with the Man of the Match award.
Check out: Tilak Varma: Rising Star Who Lit Up India’s Asia Cup Win Over Pakistan
