You must have been surprised to see Tilak Verma batting at number 3 in Centurion. The question must have arisen in the mind that how can a player playing in the middle order become a top order player? There is a very interesting story behind this, about which captain Suryakumar Yadav told after the victory in the third T20 against South Africa. According to Surya, the decision to play at number 3 was of Tilak himself, he had come forward and asked me for this opportunity. And, I am happy that he has seized the opportunity well. He has done what he said.

Whatever Tilak said, he did it, said Surya.

Suryakumar Yadav told that after the second T20, Tilak Verma came to my room in the hotel and asked me for a chance to bat at number three. He assured me of better performance. After listening to Tilak, I agreed. Gave him that opportunity to implement his intentions. Now I feel good that he has done what he asked me to do. I am very happy for them.

How did Tilak Verma convert his words into action?

We came to know what Tilak Verma had said in Captain Suryakumar Yadav's room. Now let us also know how he converted his words into action? He started this work from the third ball of the Indian innings itself. After opener Sanju Samson was bowled on the very second ball of the match, Tilak Verma came to the crease to bat and without wasting any time, he started doing the work he had asked his captain to do.

Tilak Verma, who came to bat at number three, scored unbeaten 107 runs on 56 balls. Played at a strike rate of 191.07, this innings included 7 sixes and 8 fours. Tilak Verma scored the first century of his T20 International career and Team India broke the record of its highest T20 score in South Africa by scoring a total of 219 runs. Before this he had scored 218 runs in 2007.

Team India won but Tilak got 3 more successes

India won the third T20 match against South Africa by 11 runs, whose hero was left-handed batsman Tilak Verma. With this win, India took a 2-1 lead in the series but Tilak got three more successes. He won the trust of his captain, became the player of the match and perhaps even confirmed the number three position for the future.