At the age of only 23, Tilak Varma engraved his name in the pages of Indian Premier League (IPL) history. For the Mumbai Indians (MI), the middle-order batter smashed a century against the Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Batting first, MI scored 199 in 20 overs, and Tilak Varma alone scored 101 runs.
He remained unbeaten after facing 45 balls and smashing eight 4s and seven 6s, for which his strike rate was 224.44. From the final over of the first innings, Tilak forced Prasidh Krishna to leak 20 runs. In this over, the MI batter got a couple of 4s and a couple of 6s. GT pacer Kagiso Rabada, who took 3 wickets tonight against MI, praised Tilak for the amazing knock.
Kagiso Rabada praised Tilak Varma for scoring the century
“Just glad all the hard work paid off. Good knock from Tilak. It’s very doable; we can chase it down. I think the secret is that they are ramping up the speed. I am just glad that everything is working out. We know the game of cricket.”
“I am glad that all the hard work is paying off. It’s going my way a little bit; I am just glad it is. Bowling with the new ball, that’s the period to attack. You need to stick to the simple stuff and aim for the top of it. That’s the heart of bowling, just controlling the length and line. You will get rewarded,” Kagiso Rabada said during the innings break.
Tilak Varma waited for his moment to shine
Prasidh Krishna is the leading wicket-taker of the team. But against the Mumbai Indians, Kagiso Rabada was in full flow. He single-handedly took the wickets of the openers Quinton de Kock and Danish Malewar. The South African pacer dismissed Suryakumar Yadav as well. Against Tilak Varma, like the rest of the GT bowling attack, he could not do his best tonight.
Varma started his innings in a watchful manner, but did not take too long to accelerate the run rate. While the wickets were kept falling in the other end, Tilak Varma remained calm on the crease and waited for the right moment to dominate the bowlers. He chose to go after Prasidh Krishna in the 20th over. As the MI batter started the over with sheer aggression, the in-form pacer also went under pressure and lost control over the ball.
Check out the fans’ reaction to Tilak Varma’s century vs GT
Starboy Tilak Varma scored his last 82 runs in just 23 balls 😭💙 pic.twitter.com/QJFHCcn01C
— R A T N I S H (@LoyalSachinFan) April 20, 2026
Many were loud when he wasn’t scoring bt now the bat has done all the talking. Tilak Varma showed character, patience & class with a fantastic maiden IPL century today. A comeback to remember. pic.twitter.com/25moXioAk9
— Nehhaaa 🌻 (@nehhaaa__) April 20, 2026
Vintage Tilak Varma ✌️
— ദ.മൂ (@DasaMool) April 20, 2026
Hardik Pandya’s pure joy after Tilak Varma completes his 100! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/E0hQ0pMXma
— Rushikesh Vadolkar (@RVadolkar) April 20, 2026
🤯 TILAK VARMA GOES BERSERK IN AHMEDABAD! 🔥
– 🏟️Pure hitting display at the Narendra Modi Stadium 💥🏏
Left the crowd stunned! 👏⚡#TilakVarma #MI #IPL2026 #Cricket 🔥🏏pic.twitter.com/l9ZTu9bShi
— Akaran.A (@Akaran_1) April 20, 2026
Hearing Sanath Jayasuriya’s name in an IPL game after such a long time!
With his 45-ball ton, Tilak Varma becomes joint-fastest centurion for MI in IPL, matching Jayasuriya’s feat from 2008 (against CSK)
The Sri Lankan was 1st-ever centurion for MI.
— Nihit (@nihitsachdeva28) April 20, 2026
Read More: “A total liability”: Fans furious as Suryakumar Yadav’s poor form continues in IPL 2026
