Indian cricketer Tilak Varma created history in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) by becoming the first player in the world, across men’s and women’s cricket, to score three consecutive T20 centuries. Representing Hyderabad, the 22-year-old achieved this remarkable feat during the tournament opener against Meghalaya, where he smashed an explosive 151 off just 67 balls.

Tilak’s innings of 151, featuring 14 fours and 10 sixes, came at an astonishing strike rate of 225.37, setting a new benchmark for the highest individual score in SMAT history. His knock surpassed Shreyas Iyer’s previous record of 147 runs, scored in 2019 for Mumbai against Sikkim. Tilak’s incredible performance also makes him the first Indian male cricketer to score 150 or more in a T20 match. The only other Indian to have achieved a similar milestone in T20 cricket is Kiran Navgire, who scored 162 for Nagaland in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy in 2022.

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Tilak entered the tournament in red-hot form, having scored two unbeaten centuries—107* in Centurion and 120* in Johannesburg—during India’s recent T20 series against South Africa. His exceptional performances earned him the “Player of the Series” award, with 280 runs in four matches at an average of 140.00 and a strike rate of nearly 199. His third century in SMAT solidifies his status as one of the most exciting young talents in Indian cricket.

Tilak’s domestic and international exploits have translated well into the IPL. Retained by the Mumbai Indians (MI) ahead of the 2025 mega auction, Tilak has been a consistent performer for the franchise. Since his IPL debut in 2022, he has scored 1,156 runs in 38 matches at an average of 39.86 and a strike rate of 146.32. In the 2024 season, he amassed 416 runs in 13 matches, averaging 41.60 and striking at nearly 150.