Tilak Varma turned a season of frustration into a night of redemption with a blistering maiden IPL century, powering Mumbai Indians to a stunning fightback against Gujarat Titans on Monday in Ahmedabad. Walking in under pressure and short on runs this season, the young left-hander unleashed a fearless late assault that flipped the momentum and lifted MI to 199 for five in 20 overs.
At the strategic time-out after the 14th over, Mumbai captain Hardik Pandya, who was occasionally booed by the crowd at the Narendra Modi Stadium, was seen animatedly speaking to Tilak, who had scratched his way to 19 off 22 balls.
Much of the focus was on Tilak’s form after Mumbai slipped to three down inside the powerplay. In his first five innings this season, he had managed just 43 runs. But everything changed after that break.
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The Indian batter, part of the 2026 T20 World Cup-winning squad, unleashed record carnage in the final six overs as he took apart Gujarat’s quicks. Prasidh Krishna conceded 19 runs in an over, while Ashok Sharma went for 26. Mumbai smashed 96 runs in the last 24 balls, with Tilak contributing 82 of them—the most by any batter in that phase in a single IPL innings, surpassing Quinton de Kock’s 80 for LSG against KKR in 2022.
Both Prasidh and Ashok were erratic with their lengths, often pitching it up despite fields set for the short ball, and Tilak showed no mercy. He brought up his maiden IPL hundred off the final ball of the innings, with the 45-ball knock equalling the fastest century for Mumbai Indians, matching Sanath Jayasuriya. The unbeaten 101 is now his highest IPL score.
Earlier, Kagiso Rabada produced a stellar spell with the new ball, picking up three wickets inside the powerplay, including the dismissal of out-of-form India T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav. After being hit for a six and a boundary, Rabada bounced back with a 152 kmph delivery on a fourth-stump line that jagged back sharply to hit the stumps.
Naman Dhir, promoted to No. 3, scored a half-century to steady the innings, but it was ultimately Tilak’s night as Mumbai surged to 199 for five.