Johannesburg, Nov 16, 2024
India T20I stars Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma extended their warm wishes to Test captain Rohit Sharma on the addition of a new member to his family.
Rohit and his wife Ritika Sajdeh were blessed with a baby boy, however, the couple has not made any official announcement yet. Meanwhile, the Indian team members confirmed the news in the post-match interview after the series-clinching 135-run win against South Africa in the fourth and final T20I on Friday.
“Really very happy for you Rohit bhai. We were waiting for this moment and had it been 1-2 days later I would have joined you there. I’m coming soon,” Tilak said after Suryakumar broke the news during a light-hearted interview posted on BCCI’s website.
“Super happy for Cheta and his family,” Samson added.
“Now we have to get ready with small side arm and small pads as a new cricketer has arrived,” said Suryakumar.
Rohit is yet to join his teammates in Perth after he asked for one or two Tests time from BCCI citing personal reasons. The opener’s participation in the first Test against Australia is still unclear.
Coming back to India’s stupendous win in Johannesburg, Tilak smacked 10 sixes and nine fours to accumulate an unbeaten 120 off 47 balls while opener Samson hammered 56-ball 109 not out studded with nine sixes and six fours to take India to an astronomical 283 in 20 overs.
South African batters faltered under the pressure of a daunting target and were bowled out for 148 in 18.2 overs as Arshdeep Singh clinched three scalps while Varun Chakaravarthy and Axar Patel got hold of two dismissals each. India won the match by 135 runs to register their third biggest win in the format. Meanwhile, it was the biggest T20I defeat for South Africa by runs.
In a candid chat, Samson replied, “Unbelievable”, when Suryakumar asked about his South Africa tour experience.
“We have decided one thing, we want to be aggressive but at the same time we have to remain humble like them (referring to Samson and Tilak),” the Indian T20I captain added.
“I don’t know what to say at this moment as emotions are rushing currently. I’m thankful for the opportunity and feeling very good. I never thought of scoring back-to-back centuries, especially against a challenging South Africa team,” said Tilak.
Suryakumar also mentioned the interesting fact that the sum of the numbers of Tilak’s (72) jersey number is nine which is the jersey number of Samson. Adding to it, Tilak reminded Suryakumar of his jersey number 63 which also adds up to nine.
The world no. 3 T20I batter also asked Tilak of his new long hair look which he finds similar to Telugu superstar Allu Arjun. “I like the feel of flaunting long hair while removing the helmet,” Tilak replied.(Agency)
