India Star Tilak Slammed For "Taking A Walk On The Beach" Act During 3rd T20I vs West Indies

Tilak Varma in action during third T20I against West Indies.© AFP

Lack of game awareness led to Tilak Varma's dismissal during India's third T20I against the West Indies in Indore on Sunday. It happened on the fourth ball of the 17th over after Axar Patel flicked Gudakesh Motie's delivery towards square leg. Kamil Pooran put in a dive and somehow managed to keep the ball in play. Both Indian batters believed the ball had touched the boundary rope, and the West Indies took advantage of the opportunity. They clipped off the bails at both ends with ease. While Axar managed to get to the striker's end in time, Tilak had no idea what was happening. He remained out of the frame when bowler Motie clipped off the bails at the non-striker's end.

After the decision was referred upstairs, the TV umpire concluded that Tilak was out.

Speaking on the incident, former India opener Sadagoppan Ramesh slammed Tilak.

"When the umpires themselves are referring it upstairs because of how far they are from the boundary, how did Tilak Varma and Axar Patel, who are at the same distance, decide it's a boundary? At least Axar Patel eventually became aware. Tilak Varma looked like he was taking a walk on the beach. He had no clue about what was happening around him," he said on his Instagram channel, as quoted by Sportskeeda.

"Normally, for any boundary save, the umpires instantly go to the third umpire. The main reason for that is the huge distance between the wicket, where the umpire is, and the boundary. Because they aren't sure if the fielder made contact, they wait, which means the ball is still in play," he added.

In the game, India defeated the West Indies by 14 runs to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

Chasing a target of 224 runs, the visitors were restricted to 209/7 in 20 overs. Shimron Hetmyer (43) and Kamil Pooran (42) led the fightback, but India managed to edge their opponents in a tight contest. For India, left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh regained his mojo with figures of 3/44.

Earlier, opener Abhishek Sharma struck a quickfire 69 off 30 balls to help the hosts post a competitive 223 all out after being asked to bat. The southpaw smashed six fours and five sixes during his knock. Besides Abhishek, Ishan Kishan made 37 off 18 balls, while vice-captain Tilak Varma scored 28 off 16 balls. Nitish Kumar Reddy (21 off 14) and Axar Patel (20 off 14) also played useful knocks. For the West Indies, Roston Chase (2/38) and Shamar Springer (2/50) picked up two wickets apiece.

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