Advertisment

Watch: Tilak Varma plays MS Dhoni-like helicopter shot during clash against Bangalore, video spreads like wildfire

Tilak Varma played a MS Dhoni-like helicopter shot in his dazzling innings of 84 off 46. Here's a video of the viral shot.

author-image
Jennifer
New Update
Tilak Varma draws comparison to Dhoni for helicopter shot

Tilak Varma draws comparison to Dhoni for helicopter shot (Source: Twitter)

Tilak Varma, a young player for the Mumbai franchise, produced an outstanding 84 not out off just 46 balls with four sixes and nine fours to give the five-time winners a chance against Bangalore in their Indian T20 League 2023 opening match on Sunday in Bengaluru. Tilak was brilliant, but it was not enough to keep Mumbai from suffering their 11th defeat in the first ITL game.

Advertisment

There were many things to like in Tilak Varma's outstanding performance. Still, his spectacular "helicopter" shot in the penultimate over of Mumbai's innings against Bangalore pacer Harshal Patel stands out. The hit, which was reminiscent of MS Dhoni and his signature "Helicopter" shot, came off the final ball of the last over when Tilak casually flipped Harshal into the bleachers.

Here's a video of the shot:

Mumbai lost their 11th consecutive ITL campaign opener

Advertisment

With the exception of Tilak Verma, who scored an unbeaten 84 off 46 balls to help Mumbai post a respectable 171 for 7, their batters struggled to get going. "Tilak played brilliantly, but he didn't get much help. I think 170 on a really small ground was not a good total. I think 190 could have been a par total," said Mumbai bowling coach Shane Bond after the match. "We didn't bowl well. We knew how important the opening partnership was going to be. We couldn't break it and failed to apply pressure even," Bond added.

The 11th successive season opener loss for the five-time winners came on Sunday when Bangalore defeated them by an eight-wicket margin. Virat Kohli remained Bangalore's top scorer with 82 off 49 balls while skipper Faf du Plessis won the 'Man of the Match' for an outstanding catch and an anchoring 73 off 43 while opening the batting. When Mumbai defeated Chennai in 2012, it was the last time they won their first game.

"This is my ninth season, and we haven't won our opening game. So it's getting frustrating. At the end of the day, it's a tough competition. It's always better to have more wins than losses. It's a tough way to start," Bond said at the post-match press conference.

Cricket News IPL 2023 Mumbai Indians featured