Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], December 15 : Indian star batter Tilak Varma achieved a significant milestone in his T20I career after the Men in Blue defeated South Africa by seven wickets in the third T20I of the five-match series on December 14. Varma surpassed Virat Kohli to have the highest batting average in T20I chases with a minimum of 500 runs.
The 23-year-old Varma, who played an unbeaten 25-run knock in India's seven-wicket win, surpassed Kohli's 67.1 average tally. Tilak now has an astounding average of 68 in T20I chases (minimum 500 runs).
The elite list also includes - former Indian captain MS Dhoni (47.71 average), former South African player JP Duminy (45.55 average), and Sri Lanka's great Kumar Sangakkara (44.93 average).
Additionally, Varma also has the highest average for the Indian side against a team in T20I cricket. Varma averages 70.50 against South Africa, while Kohli averages 70.28 against arch-rivals Pakistan. KL Rahul has 58.83 average against the West Indies, followed by Kohli's 57 average against the Windies.
Meanwhile, India displayed a clinical performance, with standout performances from Abhishek Sharma, Varun Chakravarthy and Arshdeep Singh, powered the hosts to a seven-wicket win against South Africa at Dharamshala on Sunday.
India has taken a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. After bundling out Proteas for 117 in 20 overs, India made easy work of the chase, chasing 118 down in 15.5 overs with seven wickets in hand.
South Africa was put to bat by India, who won the toss. Wickets kept falling at regular intervals, with a fiery powerplay spell delivered by Arshdeep Singh (2/13) and Harshit Rana (2/34). Spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav also picked two, leaving SA skipper Aiden Markram (61* in 46 balls, with six fours and two sixes) as their lone warrior as the Proteas were bundled out for 117 in 20 overs.
Abhishek Sharma (35 in 18 balls, with three fours and three sixes) and Shubman Gill (28 in 28 balls, with five fours) started with a quickfire 60-run stand. While there was a brief slump in run rate with a few quick wickets, Tilak Varma (25* in 34 balls, with three fours) and Shivam Dube (10* in four balls) ended the chase in 15.5 overs, with seven wickets left.
Brief Scores: SA: 117/10 (Aiden Markram 61*, Donovan Ferreira 20, Arshdeep Singh 2/13) vs India: 120/3 in 15.5 overs (Abhishek Sharma 35, Shubman Gill 28, Corbin Bosch 3/18).