Tilak Varma has etched his name into the history books with a jaw-dropping late acceleration during the first innings of the Mumbai Indians' clash against the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League 2026 on Monday, April 20. Tilak powered a struggling Mumbai line-up to a competitive score of 199/5 with a sensational 45-ball 101 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Tilak had to do the heavy lifting as the visitors were losing wickets at regular intervals. The Southpaw came in at No.5 and saw MI go down to 96/4 in 12.3 overs. After dragging the team forward, he launched an all-out attack against the GT bowlers in the last six overs. Tilak was at 19 from 22 balls and MI at 103/4 after the 14th over.
He put the GT bowlers to the sword and hit 82 runs off the next 23 balls he faced, smashing bowlers all around the park, including a 26-run over off Ashok Sharma. He completed his century on the last ball of the innings with a four on the leg side to reach his maiden IPL ton.
Tilak breaks Quinton de Kock's record
With this, Tilak created a few records. One among them was that he has now scored the most runs in the last six overs of an innings in the history of the Indian cash-rich league. The previous record belonged to Quinton de Kock, who had smashed 80 runs in the last six overs for Lucknow Super Giants in an IPL fixture against the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2022.
Most runs in the last six overs of an IPL innings:
1 - Tilak Varma: 82 runs for MI vs GT in 2026
2 - Quinton de Kock: 80 runs for LSG vs KKR in 2022
3 - Rishabh Pant: 79 runs for DC vs SRH in 2018
4 - Rishabh Pant: 77 runs for DC vs MI in 2019
5 - Brendon McCullum: 75 runs for KKR vs RCB in 2008
Tilak hits joint-fastest century for MI
Meanwhile, Tilak has equalled a historic record of former Sri Lankan cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya. Tilak's 45-ball hundred is the joint-fastest hundred by an MI batter in the history of the Indian cash-rich league. He is now tied with Sanath Jayasuriya, who had slammed a 45-ball ton in IPL 2008.
Fastest hundreds for MI in IPL (by balls):
45 - Sanath Jayasuriya vs CSK, Wankhede, 2008
45 - Tilak Varma vs GT, Ahmedabad, 2026
47 - Cameron Green vs SRH, Wankhede, 2023
49 - Suryakumar vs GT, Wankhede, 2023
