Tilak Varma suffers freak run-out due to misinterpretation

Tilak Varma’s innings ended in a very unusual way in Indore when he and Axar Patel stopped running after erroneously assuming a flick off a full toss had reached the boundary during the third T20I at Holkar Stadium on Sunday. The left-hander, who had looked set on 28 off 16 balls, was left stranded well short of his crease as West Indies capitalized on the momentary lapse in judgement.

Notwithstanding the loss of momentum, India recovered brilliantly from a precarious position of 135-5 to post 223.  For a welcome change, the bowlers were not treated as secondary citizens in the white-ball jousts between India and West Indies, with the archetypal featherbed at the Holkar stadium in Indore ironically bucking the trend. India defended the target to beat West Indies by 14 runs and take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series, the first time any side on this tour won batting first.

Everything about the much-awaited evening in Madhya Pradesh’s economic capital pointed towards another successful pursuit. The chasing side had won all three ODIs and both T20Is so far, including targets of 406 and 250, and the venue’s square boundaries measured a mere 63 metres.

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