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"Treated Shaheen like a net bowler": Gavaskar hails Tilak for scintillating knock vs PAK

Arunima Purohit

Tilak Varma [Source: @TilakV9]Tilak Varma [Source: @TilakV9]

The intense rivalry between India and Pakistan was seen during the Asia Cup 2025 Super Four clash. India's openers, Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill, started the run chase on a fierce note following a series of personal attacks and comments from the Pakistan players. 

Despite everything, they stitched a 105-run partnership, scoring 74 and 47 runs, respectively. Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar praised young batter Tilak Varma for thrashing Pakistan's one of the best bowlers towards the end of the innings.

Sunil Gavaskar hails Tilak Verma's knock

Tilak Varma's knock against Pakistan in the Super Four match was crucial. India lost Sanju Samson in a crunch situation, and Hardik Pandya had just walked into the crease. Hence, the pressure was directly on Varma to accelerate the innings. Channeling all his energy and skills, he slammed the bowlers and took the game home. 

Sunil Gavaskar praised the batter for his fantastic knock of 30 off 19 balls while writing in his column for The Sportstar. The former batter mentioned that Varma treated Pakistan's 'premium bowler' Shaheen Afridi like a 'net-ball spinner' towards the end of the match.  

"India breezed to a win after a delightful opening partnership between Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill that took the breath away and crushed any hopes the Pakistanis had of winning the game. In the end, another super-talented batter, Tilak Varma, treated Pakistan's premier bowler, Shaheen Shah Afridi, like a net-ball spinner and smashed him around to wrap a win with deliveries to spare," wrote Sunil Gavaskar in his column for The Sportstar.

Tilak Varma most likely to improve ICC T20I rankings

India's middle-order batter Tilak Varma is currently at No. 4 position as per the current ICC T20I rankings. However, after a brilliant match-winning 30-run knock against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025, his position is most likely to be improved in the upcoming rankings.

Moreover, Abhishek Sharma is currently the No. 1 ranked T20I batter and is likely to retain the top spot, thanks to his knock of 74 off 39 balls. He hit six boundaries and five sixes and formed a solid partnership with Shubman Gill against Pakistan.