Tilak Varma retired out: Hardik Pandya, Mahela Jayawardene explain reason behind Mumbai Indians' shocking move

Tilak Varma retired out: Hardik Pandya, Mahela Jayawardene explain reason behind Mumbai Indians' shocking move

Tilak Varma retired out: The IPL 2025 match between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Mumbai Indians (MI), which the former won by 12 runs, saw a rare moment. Tilak Varma failed to live up to his reputation and struggled to find his foot during his 23-ball stay in the middle. While the opponent failed to get rid of the batter, his team were forced to make a bold call and retire out him before the final over of the 204-run chase.

In a venue (Ekana Stadium), which is not renowned for producing high-scoring encounters, Lucknow went to pile 203/8 on the board after being asked to bat first.

Mitchell Marsh gave Lucknow Super Giants the start they hoped for and it was brilliantly complimented by David Miller towards the end. Marsh made his intentions clear from the word go and went on to slam a 27-ball half-century. He was eventually caught-and-bowled for 60(31) by Vignesh Puthur. Miller, on the other hand, hammered 27 off 14 balls, which helped Lucknow breach the 200-run mark. Ayush Badoni and Aiden Markram also chipped in with vital contributions. Badoni added 30(19), while Markram was dismissed for 53(38).

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Mumbai in response were jolted early but solid knocks by Naman Dhir and Suryakumar Yadav brought the five-time champions back in the contest. Naman blasted 46(24), bringing an end to 69(35) run stand for the third wicket with SKY. The dismissal introduced impact substitute Tilak in the chase but he failed to get going despite spending substantial time in the middle.

As the pressure kept building, Suryakumar risked a scoop against Avesh Khan and was caught by Abdul Samad, drawing curtains on his explosive knock. Hardik Pandya then joined the chase and started with a couple of boundaries against Avesh.

Batting at 25 off 23 in the run chase, #TilakVarma retired himself out to make way for Mitchell Santner!Only the 4th time a batter has retired out in the IPL!Watch LIVE action https://t.co/nH2UGjQY0t #IPLonJioStar #LSGvMI, LIVE NOW on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 pic.twitter.com/NJ0C0F8MvLStar Sports (@StarSportsIndia) April 4, 2025

However, due to dearth of boundaries in the next two overs, Mumbai Indians were forced to retired out Tilak in the fifth ball of the 19th over by Shardul Thakur, which resulted in just seven runs. Tilak returned to the pavilion on 25(23), which featured two boundaries.

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Mumbai eventually fell short by 12 runs in a captivating chase, set-up by Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, and some late hope by Pandya's presence in the middle.

Both Mumbai Indians' coach and captain were asked to weigh-in on the move and here's what they said:

Mahela Jayawardene (coach): "I think Tilak batted well for us when we lost that wicket, and that partnership with Surya. He just wanted to get going, but he just couldn't.

"Till the last few overs hoping because he spend some time there, so he should have been able to get that hits out of the way. But I felt that at the end I needed someone fresh to go.

"He was struggling. When these things happens in cricket, not nice to take him out, but I had to do that. It was a tactical decision at that point."

Hardik Pandya (captain): “We needed some hits, and Tilak was not getting those. In cricket, some days come when you try, but the runs just don’t come. It was purely a tactical decision.”