"Just like we had a legend in the past" - Sanjay Manjrekar makes massive MS Dhoni comparison for Team India youngster after IND vs ENG 2nd T20I 2025
Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar compared Tilak Varma's match-winning abilities to that of MS Dhoni following the second T20I against England in Chennai. The cricketer-turned-commentator observed that the southpaw's confidence resembles Dhoni's as the keeper-batter stuck until the end on multiple occasions to drive India to victory.
Varma struck an unbeaten 72 off 55 deliveries as the Men in Blue aced a run-chase of 166 in the final over with two wickets to spare. The youngster walked into the crease in the second over of the innings and kept his cool as the hosts' middle-order suffered a collapse, with the lower-order batters contributing around Varma to give their side a 2-0 lead.
When asked whether Varma shifting gears according to the situation are promising sign, Manjrekar stated that India hardly panicked even when they needed boundaries to ease up the pressure in the 19th over of the innings. Hence, the 59-year-old feels a young player carrying such confidence reminds him of Dhoni.
Speaking on ESPN Cricinfo's Timeout, he claimed:
"Absolutely. The confidence he has that he will be able to see India through the very end and even in this run chase, there was no panic around the 18th over. Even in the 19th over, you could see that India wasn’t getting the boundary that could take the pressure off. But he was quite happy to virtually be there till the end. It seems the guy who is confident and being the man who can take his team through, just like we had a legend in the past in the name of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who had the same confidence. So, when you have a player like him, batting at No.3, he might be taking on that role, which is not such a bad thing."
Varun Chakravarthy, who took three wickets in the opening T20I, added two more to his tally in the second. Axar Patel also grabbed a couple, while Arshdeep Singh, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar and Abhishek Sharma took one apiece.
"The wicket was slightly two-paced" - Tilak Varma after driving Team India to victory
With Varma earning the Player of the Match award after India's win, revealed that coach Gautam Gambhir had urged him to take charge according to the demands of the situation. The 22-year-old said the South Africa tour had prepared them to face the English bowlers well enough and said at the post-game presentation:
"The wicket was slightly two-paced. I was talking with Gautam sir yesterday, he said whatever happens, you should play according to the situation. If team needs ten an over, you should take charge, if something else, you should stand till the end. Team discussed that left-right combination will be a good option, it will be difficult for opposition bowlers as well. We already played in South Africa, their bowlers were quicker. We were prepared. Archer and Wood are quick, our guys prepared well, we worked hard in the nets and we got the results."
India and England will battle it out in the third T20I in Rajkot on January 28.