Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Tilak Varma becomes first cricketer to register third consecutive T20 hundred

Rajkot: India’s young batter Tilak Varma etched his name into the record books on Saturday, becoming the first player to score three consecutive T20 hundreds. The 22-year-old Hyderabad captain achieved the historic feat in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy opener against Meghalaya, at Saurashtra Cricket Stadium C, where he smashed an unbeaten 151 off just 67 balls - the highest individual T20 score by an Indian male cricketer.

Tilak’s blistering knock featured 14 fours and 10 towering sixes as he powered Hyderabad to a commanding total. His innings surpassed Shreyas Iyer’s previous record of 147 as the best T20 score by an Indian.

Batting at No. 3, Tilak reached his half-century in 28 balls and took only 51 deliveries to bring up his century. The hundred marked the third time in just 10 days that he crossed the three-figure mark in the shortest format.

Tilak’s red-hot form began during India’s recent T20I tour of South Africa, where he smashed back-to-back hundreds in Centurion and Johannesburg to lead India to a 3-1 series victory. By doing so, he became only the second Indian batter after Sanju Samson to score consecutive T20I centuries.

With this latest milestone, Tilak’s T20 career tally now stands at over 2950 runs in 90 innings, including four centuries. His performances have been marked by his ability to anchor innings as well as accelerate at will, making him a vital cog in both domestic and international setups.

Tilak’s exploits haven’t gone unnoticed in franchise cricket. He was one of the five players retained by the Mumbai Indians ahead of the IPL 2025 auction.