Tilak Varma Smashes Century on County Debut for Hampshire, Impresses with Brilliant Knock in England

The Indian team is currently on a tour of England, where a five-match Test series is being played between the two sides. At the same time, several Indian players are also taking part in county cricket, including Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma. Tilak is playing for Hampshire this season and has impressed everyone with a brilliant century in his debut match. He is playing red-ball cricket after a long time.

Left-handed Indian batter Tilak Varma scored a superb century for Hampshire in his County Championship debut against Essex at the County Ground in Chelmsford on Tuesday. He started the third day on 98 and soon reached his sixth First-Class century, taking 239 balls to get there.

Tilak has signed a contract to play four matches for Hampshire in the Rothesay County Championship, which will be played from June 22 to August 1. His first match was against Essex in Chelmsford, held from June 22 to 25.

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The match began with Essex scoring 296 runs in their first innings. In reply, Hampshire had a poor start, losing two wickets for just 34 runs. Tilak Varma came in to bat at number 4 and played a calm and mature innings, helping the team recover. By the end of Day 2, Hampshire had scored 293 runs for 4 wickets, with Tilak unbeaten on 98. On Day 3, he completed his century and continued to bat well.

Tilak shared important partnerships during his innings. He had half-century stands with Fletcha Middleton (61) and Ben Brown (42), and a century partnership with Liam Dawson, who remained unbeaten on 79. Though Tilak was solid in defence, he also showed his attacking style by hitting two sixes off Matt Critchley — one over long leg and a reverse-sweep — and another six off Shane Snater.

WHAT A KNOCK BY TILAK VERMA. 🫡

He smashed a brilliant Hundred, he scored 100 runs from 241 balls for Hampshire in the County debut in England.

- A dream debut for Tilak Verma..!!! pic.twitter.com/HICLMRVJMD

— Tanuj (@ImTanujSingh) June 24, 2025

Earlier in the match, Hampshire’s Kyle Abbott bowled brilliantly and took 5 wickets for 26 runs in 19 overs. He now leads the Championship’s wicket-taking chart with 37 wickets this season. Essex, on the other hand, had a boost with the return of Sam Cook from England duty, playing his first Championship match since early May.

Tilak Verma scored a hundred in his debut County Championship match.

After getting 34/2 while playing for Hampshire, Tilak Verma completed a hundred in 239 balls.

Good news for India 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/ZZMoTGR1ab

— Gurlabh Singh (@gurlabhsingh610) June 24, 2025

Tilak Varma has already played white-ball cricket for India, appearing in 4 ODIs and 25 T20Is. However, he has not yet made his Test debut. In IPL 2025, he played for Mumbai Indians but didn’t have a great season, scoring 343 runs in 16 matches at an average of 31.18, including two fifties.

Along with Tilak, Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan also impressed in his County Championship debut. Playing for Nottinghamshire, Ishan played an attacking innings of 87 runs, hitting 12 fours and 1 six. However, he missed out on a century and was dismissed by off-spinner Dom Bess.

Both Indian players have made a strong impact in their county debuts, and fans will be eager to see how they perform in the remaining matches.