Mumbai Indians batter Tilak Varma produced his maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) century to earn Player of the Match honors as MI defeated Gujarat Titans by 99 runs on April 21, 2026. Varma’s unbeaten 101 runs from 45 balls helped MI post 199 for 5 after batting first at Ahmedabad.
The 23-year-old equaled the joint-fastest century record for the Mumbai franchise, matching Sri Lankan cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya, and became MI’s youngest centurion at 23 years and 163 days. Cameron Green and Suryakumar Yadav rank next, scoring centuries in 47 and 49 balls respectively for MI in 2023.
Speaking after the match, Varma reflected on the significance of his first hundred. “Of course, the first 100 will always be special. It was very important for us. We don’t have much time from here. Every game is important for us,” he said. Varma added that he initially played cautiously, focusing on spending time at the crease given limited recent opportunities. “Last five games, I haven’t had much time in the middle. So, in this game, I wanted to spend time in the middle. So you saw the first 20 balls, I was just batting ball by ball. And then later on, I knew the ability I have. I was just seeing the situation and what the team needs, and I was just stable and keeping my head still and following my basics,” he explained.
Varma also highlighted the importance of his partnership with Naman Dhir during the innings, praising Dhir’s positive intent. “It was very important. The way Naman played with positive intent, credit goes to him,” he said. He noted that although he possesses a wide range of attacking shots, he emphasized stability under pressure: “I have all the fancy shots. But when the team is under pressure, it’s just about backing your skills, and today it’s given me good results.”
Gujarat Titans struggled in response, suffering a top-order collapse to be bowled out for 100 runs. Key bowlers Ashwani Kumar (4/24), Mitchell Santner (2/16), and AM Ghazanfar (2/17) dismantled the Titans’ batting lineup. Mumbai Indians improved to seventh place in the IPL 2026 standings with two wins and four losses from six matches. Gujarat sits sixth with three wins and three losses.
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