Tilak Varma had an answer for his critics. It came in 29 balls

5 min readUpdated: Jul 25, 2026 08:54 PM IST Tilak Varma in action. (Photo: Faheem Hussain / CREIMAS for BCCI)Before India’s three-T20I series against Zimbabwe, Tilak Varma had ventured his views on the strike rate discourse: only if the team does not lose early wickets, he can hit boundaries from ball one. On Saturday, he let his willow back his words, hitting five fours and three sixes in his unbeaten 29-ball 60, the first of those boundaries coming off the second delivery. India, banking on the vice-captain and Ishan Kishan’s exploits, scored 219/5, securing a 90-run victory, and subsequently, the series, as Zimbabwe could only muster 129. The final scorecard, India’s sixth-highest T20I total away from home, suggests a comfortable evening. For a brief while, it looked anything but.Abhis