Asia Cup final hero Tilak Varma echoes captain Surya's words, says 'Pakistan is no match for us'

Tilak Varma became an overnight star after his match-winning knock in the Asia Cup final against Pakistan on Sunday (September 28). He smashed an unbeaten 69 off 53 balls with three fours and four sixes to take home in the last-over thriller in Dubai. Tilak returned home on Monday (September 29) to a rousing welcome from the fans in Hyderabad and attended a press conference today where he echoed captain Suryakumar Yadav's words stating that Pakistan team is no match for India at the moment.

For the unversed, Surya had stated that India vs Pakistan is not a rivalry anymore after the men in blue thumped Pakistan in the Super Four round on September 21. Tilak also backed his captain's words but also admitted that there was pressure on him in the 147-run chase in the final. He also pointed out that even though there is no rivalry, Pakistan came up with different plans for the batters in almost every game.

"I agree with captain Suryakumar Yadav that there is no rivalry. Pakistan is no match for us. But every opposition comes up with different plans, and Pakistan also did the same. There



was pressure on me when I walked out to bat and there were nerves as well. A lot was going on in my mind, but under pressure, I was only thinking about my country and wanted to win the match for 140 crores of Indians," Tilak said today in the press conference.

Tilak Varma came out to bat when India's score was 10/2 and it soon became 20/3. The pressure was immense at the time and the left-hander revealed that Pakistan cricketers were coming hard at the batters, sensing an opportunity to pick more wickets. However, Tilak decided not to respond to their antics at the time and just focussed on playing good cricket.

"As India had lost three wickets and there was pressure on us, the Pakistan players came hard at me. They tried to sledge me. But I made sure not to play any rash shot in haste and tried to stay calm. Like I said before, I just had to follow the basics and didn't respond to them. I decided to respond to them after the match. They tried to distract me a lot. It happens a lot in India vs Pakistan matches and I can't say what exactly happened in front of camera," Tilak further added.