By Kavita Mistry 
Tilak Verma made a stunning comeback against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). He scored 56 runs off just 29 balls at an impressive strike rate of 193. Although Mumbai Indians lost the match by 12 runs, Tilak’s brilliant performance brought them close to a win.
This came after he had been criticized for his slow innings in the previous match against Lucknow Super Giants, where he was retired mid-innings.In that match, Tilak only managed 25 runs off 23 balls while chasing a target of 204. His retirement sparked a lot of questions and debates. However, Mumbai Indians’ captain, Hardik Pandya, cleared the air after the RCB match, revealing that Tilak had been playing with a finger injury during the Lucknow game. “It was a tactical decision.
Tilak had an injury and couldn’t bat properly, so the coach thought it was better to bring in a fresh player who could hit big shots,” Hardik explained.
Head coach Mahela Jayawardene also backed the retirement decision. He states it was part of a strategy to bring in a new player for better performance, much like a football substitution. Although the strategy didn’t work out as hoped, Tilak’s performance against RCB showed his resilience and ability to recover from criticism.