TG20 Season 1: Tilak Varma’s century outshines Aman Rao’s onslaught, leads Medak Falcons to 3-wkt win
Hyderabad, June 23 (IANS) Medak Falcons’ captain Tilak Varma led from the front as his side pulled off a heist to chase down 259 against Warangal Warriors and clinch a three-wicket win in Match 3 of the Hyderabad Cricket Association’s TG20 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad on Monday.
Warriors captain Aman Rao Perala set the tone for the high-scoring contest with his blazing 32-ball century, scoring 142 in 48 balls to help his side post a daunting target of 259. In reply, Tilak’s unbeaten 136, which included 14 fours and 8 sixes, along with a crucial cameo from Vikram Naik (27 off 12), led the Falcons home after they were 190/6 in the 15th over, helping them get over the line with two balls to spare.
Warangal Warriors got off to a flying start courtesy Aman, who came out all guns blazing and raced to a scintillating 17-ball half-century. Alongside Harshit Choudhary, he put the Medak Falcons bowlers under immense pressure from the outset, with the pair powering the Warriors to 101/0 in the powerplay — the highest powerplay score of the tournament so far.
The opening duo continued to pile on the runs, adding 133 for the first wicket before N Surya Teja finally provided the breakthrough by dismissing Harshit for a brisk 35 off 23 balls in the ninth over. By then, however, the foundation for a massive total had already been laid.
Aman showed no signs of slowing down after his partner’s departure, continuing his assault with a range of clean and powerful strokes all around the ground. The opener went on to become the first batter to score a century in the Sreenidhi University TG20, reaching the landmark in just 32 deliveries and producing one of the most memorable knocks of the tournament so far.
The 22-year-old, who was picked by the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2026, anchored the Warriors to 146/1 at the halfway stage of the innings. His side amassed 200 in the 14th over before Rahul Kunta bagged the crucial wicket of Aman for the Falcons. That brought an end to his 142-run marathon knock off 48 balls, which included 12 fours and 13 sixes.
Falcons managed to contain the damage towards the backend of the innings with Tilak Varma and Madhukar Manne chipping in with a couple of wickets between them. Despite that, Murugan Abhishek’s quickfire 15-ball 32 guided Warriors to a daunting total of 258/7.
The run chase began in an exhilarating manner. Despite conceding 17 runs, Anirudh Srivatsa provided the early breakthrough for his side by dismissing Naman Agarwal (12 off 4) in the first over.
Tilak got off the blocks quickly to ensure that the Falcons kept up with the required run rate as they scored fifty in the fourth over. Although Shrunjith Reddy (25 off 12) was run out in the last over of the powerplay, Falcons amassed 85/2.
The Team India T20I vice-captain continued to march on, registering his half-century in 22 balls to help his side past the 100-run mark in eight overs. Even though Shaunak Kulkarni got the better of Ravi Teja in the ninth over, Falcons stayed in the hunt.
Their run chase was derailed as they lost three wickets in as many overs, finding themselves at 190/6 in the fifteenth over. With 65 runs needed off the last five overs, Tilak breezed to his century in 42 balls and stitched a 58-run partnership alongside Vikram to keep Falcons alive.
Vikram (27 off 12) fell in the penultimate over; his cameo proved to be valuable. With the game coming down to the wire, Tilak stood tall to take the game deep. With 20 needed off the last couple of overs and only three wickets in hand, he guided his side home with an unbeaten 136 off 56 balls in a high-scoring thriller, as they chased down 259 with two balls to spare.
Brief scores:
Warangal Warriors 258/7 in 20 overs (Aman Rao Perala 142, Harshit Choudary 35, Tilak Varma 2/29, Madhukar Manne 2/34 ) lost to Medak Falcons 259/7 in 19.4 overs (Tilak Varma 136*, Vikram Naik 27*, Md Asif Mansoori 2/19, Shaunak Kulkarni 2/43) by 3 wickets
–IANS
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