Tilak Varma is trending because his 51 not out off 26 balls rescued India from 70/5 and won the 2nd T20I against New Zealand at Christchurch on 24 October 2026. The 4-wicket win gives India a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. It came three weeks after his unbeaten 51 in the Asian Games final.
Scorecard sites list the numbers. This page gives you the innings in context: how the chase went, how Abhishek Sharma, Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel did, Tilak's career stats and age, why he's vice-captain ahead of Axar, and when he bats next.
Tilak Varma vs New Zealand: how the 51* won the 2nd T20I
New Zealand batted first and made 180/5. Glenn Phillips top-scored with 70 off 43 balls and Bevon Jacobs made 58 off 46, according to Outlook's match report.
India's chase nearly fell apart in the middle overs. Mitchell Santner took 4/21, including the captain Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel, and India were 70/5 after 11 overs. They needed about 11 an over with only the lower-middle order left.
The two partnerships that turned it
- Tilak and Naman Dhir: 42 for the sixth wicket. Dhir made 31 off 17 and took on the bowling while Tilak rotated the strike. (We profiled Dhir earlier: Naman Dhir, the Mumbai Indians all-rounder.)
- Tilak and Nitish Kumar Reddy: an unbroken 50 off 23 balls. Nitish finished on 26* and hit the winning runs off Jacob Duffy, off the second-last ball of the chase.
Tilak reached his fifty off 25 balls, Yahoo Sports reports, and stayed in until the end. That is what makes this knock stand out: he came in with the match slipping away and was still there when it was won. He also took two catches in the field, Tim Seifert and Daryl Mitchell, and was named Player of the Match.
It was a big turnaround from the 1st T20I on 22 October. There he made only 6, while India chased 226 and finished on 230/6 in 19.4 overs. Sanju Samson (67), Iyer (42) and Dhir (42*) did the scoring that day, per the ESPNcricinfo scorecard.
Abhishek Sharma, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel: how they did in the same match
Many people searching "abhishek sharma", "shreyas iyer" and "अक्षर पटेल" on 24 October want to know the same thing: what did the rest of the batting order do? Here are the figures from the match reports. Where a report gave no ball count, we've left the cell blank instead of guessing.
| Player (Hindi / Telugu) | Role | Runs (balls) | How it went |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tilak Varma (तिलक वर्मा / తిలక్ వర్మ) | Vice-captain | 51* (26) | Player of the Match. 6 fours, 1 six, 2 catches |
| Abhishek Sharma (अभिषेक शर्मा / అభిషేక్ శర్మ) | Opener | 27 (21) | Quick start, but out before the slide |
| Shreyas Iyer (श्रेयस अय्यर / శ్రేయస్ అయ్యర్) | Captain | 7 | One of Santner's four wickets |
| Axar Patel (अक्षर पटेल / అక్షర్ పటేల్) | All-rounder, former vice-captain | 11 | Another of Santner's victims |
| Naman Dhir (नमन धीर / నమన్ ధీర్) | Middle order | 31 (17) | Added 42 with Tilak |
| Nitish Kumar Reddy (नीतीश कुमार रेड्डी / నితీష్ కుమార్ రెడ్డి) | All-rounder | 26* | Unbroken 50-run stand. Hit the winning runs |
Sources: Outlook and Yahoo Sports. Check the official scorecard for ball-by-ball detail.
Tilak Varma T20I stats and career numbers
The figures below come from Wikipedia, last updated on 15 October 2026. They don't include his 6 and 51* in this New Zealand series. For the latest totals, see his ESPNcricinfo profile once it's updated.
| Format | Matches | Runs | Average | 100s / 50s | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T20I | 69 | 1,834 | 44.73 | 2 / 10 | 120* |
| ODI | 5 | 68 | – | – | – |
| First-class | – | 1,828 | 57.12 | – | – |
Career highlights
- Debuts: T20I on 3 August 2023 against the West Indies, and ODI on 15 September 2023 against Bangladesh.
- Back-to-back T20I hundreds against South Africa in November 2024: 107* and then 120* off 47 balls.
- Player of the Match in the 2025 Asia Cup final, with 69* against Pakistan.
- 2026 T20 World Cup winner, after coming back from surgery earlier in the year.
- Asian Games gold on 3 October 2026 in Nisshin, Japan. India beat Pakistan by 19 runs, with Tilak on 51* off 22 and Abhishek on 61 off 28 (Olympics.com).
- Captained India A to the 2026 Sri Lanka tri-series title.
- IPL: Mumbai Indians bought him for ₹1.7 crore in 2022 and retained him before the 2025 auction. He hit 101 off 45 against Gujarat Titans in IPL 2026 (official IPL profile).
It hasn't all gone his way. In the 3rd T20I against the West Indies in Indore on 11 October, he was run out for 28 after a mix-up with Axar Patel, and the clip went viral.
Tilak Varma age, full name and background
His full name is Namboori Thakur Tilak Varma. He was born on 8 November 2002 in Kukatpally, Hyderabad, which makes him 23 years old as of 24 October 2026. He turns 24 on 8 November 2026, five days before India's 4th ODI in Tauranga.
He plays domestic cricket for Hyderabad and had a county stint with Hampshire in 2025. His father worked as an electrician at BHEL, and his brother Tarun Varma is a national badminton champion. Because he's a Hyderabad player, searches in Telugu (తిలక్ వర్మ) jump whenever he scores. Tamil searches (திலக் வர்மா) were rising on 24 October too.
Why Tilak Varma is vice-captain, not Axar Patel
On 6 June 2026, Shreyas Iyer became India's 15th T20I captain, replacing Suryakumar Yadav. ESPNcricinfo's headline says Suryakumar was dropped. In the same reshuffle, Tilak replaced Axar Patel as vice-captain, even though Axar had held the role at the T20 World Cup.
Not everyone agreed with the change. Former India captain Kris Srikkanth said publicly that he couldn't understand the logic behind removing Axar. We found the vice-captaincy change in media reports only, not in a BCCI press release. Still, the squad BCCI named on 6 October for this tour lists Tilak as vice-captain (Cricket Times, Olympics.com).
The full squad and the streaming details are in our IND vs NZ T20 live streaming and squads guide. It also covers Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's place in the group (here's his age and stats) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar's return after about four years.
The catches record: what's confirmed and what isn't
With his two catches at Christchurch, Tilak reached 26 T20I catches in 2026, an IANS report says. According to that report, it is the most by a fielder in a calendar year, ahead of the 25 that Indonesia's Danilson Hawoe took in 2025.
So far, this comes from one report only and hasn't been confirmed by an official stats source. Treat it as unconfirmed until ESPNcricinfo or the ICC lists it.
When does Tilak Varma bat next? Remaining fixtures
All three remaining T20Is start at 12:30 pm IST, per Yahoo Sports' tour schedule.
| Match | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 3rd T20I | Tuesday 27 October 2026 | Wellington (some sources call it Sky Stadium, others Hnry Stadium) |
| 4th T20I | Friday 30 October 2026 | Eden Park, Auckland |
| 5th T20I | Sunday 1 November 2026 | Seddon Park, Hamilton |
Tilak is also in the squad for the 4th and 5th ODIs in Tauranga on 13 and 15 November.
Where to watch: In India, the matches are on the Sony Sports Network on TV and stream on SonyLIV. If you need a plan, compare them first in our SonyLIV plans and prices guide.
"Tilak Verma" or "Tilak Varma"?
The correct spelling is Tilak Varma. "Tilak Verma" is a common misspelling, and it's understandable: even the BCCI's own player video page uses "tilak-verma" in its URL. Both spellings, plus तिलक वर्मा, తిలక్ వర్మ and திலக் வர்மா, refer to the same player.
One more thing to watch for: old pages about Tilak missing the first three T20Is against New Zealand because of surgery are about a January 2026 home series (BCCI notice, 8 January 2026). They have nothing to do with the current tour. He is fit and playing.
For more breakout cricket and sports stories as they happen, visit the KyunTrend homepage.
Sources
Outlook (2nd T20I), Yahoo Sports (2nd T20I), Yahoo Sports (schedule), IPLT20, BCCI, Wikipedia, SocialNews/IANS, CricTracker, Cricket Times, Olympics.com.
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