Tilak Varma owns two tons vs SA in T20Is: Stats
What's the story
India will take on South Africa in a crucial Super 8 clash of the T20 World Cup 2026. The match is scheduled to be held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on February 22. Both teams have been unbeaten so far, making this encounter even more competitive. Eyes will be on Tilak Varma, who has been inconsistent lately. However, his T20I record against South Africa is sensational. Here we decode the same.
Stats
An average of 70.85 against SA
As per ESPNcricinfo, Varma has scored a whopping 496 runs across 10 T20Is against South Africa at an impressive average of 70.85 (two centuries and two half-centuries). He is India's highest run-getter and overall the fourth-highest run-getter versus SA in the format. This is the best average among batters with at least 250 runs against the Proteas. New Zealand's Martin Guptill (53) and Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan (51.33) are the only other batters with an average of 44-plus in this regard.
DYK
Two tons against the team
India's away T20I series against SA in 2024 saw Varma hammer two successive centuries - a 47-ball 120* in Johannesburg and a 56-ball 107* in Centurion. Varma's teammate Sanju Samson is the only other batter with multiple T20I hundreds against the Proteas team (2). Meanwhile, England's Philip Salt (141* in Manchester, 2025) and Pakistan's Babar Azam (122 in Centurion, 2021) are the only batters with a higher individual T20I score against SA than Varma.
Form
T20 WC 2026: Varma's struggles in terms of strike rate
From 4 T20 World Cup matches in the ongoing edition, Varma has scored 106 runs at 26.50. Notably, his strike rate of 120.45 is on the lower side. He got three successive scores of 25 in the matches against USA, Namibia and Pakistan before this 31-run knock against the Dutch. Coming to his overall numbers, the southpaw boasts 1,89 runs in T20Is at 46.03 from 44 matches. His strike rate of 141.80 is also impressive (50s: 6, 100s: 2).