Watch: Tilak Varma smashes fifty against Bangladesh in Asian Games, dedicates the knock to his mom

Tilak Varma scored an unbeaten half-century to help India win Semi-final 1 of Asian Games Men's Cricket Competition against Bangladesh.

The first semi-finals of the men's cricket tournament in the ongoing Asian Games 2023 was played on Friday. It was India taking on Bangladesh at the Pingfeng Campus Cricket Field in Hangzhou. Both teams qualified for the semis after winning their games in the quarter-finals. India beat Nepal to qualify for the semi-finals, while Bangladesh won against Malaysia by a tight margin of two runs to make it to the semi-finals.

These two teams met in the first semi-finals on Friday morning. It started with Indian team winning the toss and deciding to bowl first. Indian bowlers were on the money from the start and bowled in a tight channel. Bangladesh kept losing wickets at regular intervals. They ended up scoring only 96/9 in the first innings.

Watch: Tilak Varma dedicates his match-winning knock to his mom

For India, Sai Kishore was the pick of the bowlers, who ended up taking 3/15 in his four overs. Apart from Shivam Dube, all the other bowlers took a wicket each. Washington Sundar picked up 2/15 in his four overs. Only three Bangladeshi batters scored in double digits, and 13 runs came in extra. Chasing the score, India lost the last match centurion Yashasvi Jaiswal for a four-balls duck.

He got out in the very first over. But that was the only wicket that India lost. It brought Tilak Varma to the crease, who added an unbeaten 97-runs stand for the second wicket to take India home. Tilak Varma also scored his second T20I half-century and dedicated it to his mom.

Watch the video here:

The left-hander remained unbeaten on 55 off just 26 balls, including six maximums and two fours. Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad made 40 not out from 26 balls, with three sixes and four boundaries. India made 97/1 in 9.2 overs and won the game. With this, India have qualified for the finals of the tournament and will face the winner of the second semi-finals on Saturday.