Tilak Varma's finishing touch: A Hyderabadi dum biryani cooked to perfection

The debate over which biryani is the best will probably never have a definitive winner in India. Every region has its own claim to fame, and Hyderabad is no exception. Visit the city, and a plate of Hyderabadi biryani is practically a must. The recipe itself isn't overly complicated, and you can even recreate it at home. But there's one ingredient you simply cannot do without: patience.The preparation alone will test your limits. The meat needs to marinate, the rice needs to soak, and the initial prep takes time. Then comes the most crucial stage: putting the biryani on dum. For the next 20 minutes, the pot must sit on a low flame. Get the heat wrong, and you're staring at charred rice and meat.NZ vs IND 2ND T20I: SCORECARD | HIGHLIGHTSThe pressure must remain constant, and not a wisp of steam can escape. There's no shortcut, no rushing the process. Get the timing right, and the reward is worth every minute of the wait. The flavours come together, and your taste buds are in for a treat. On Saturday, October 24, Indian cricket fans had another reason to savour the Hyderabadi connection. Tilak Varma produced a stunning late assault in Christchurch, helping India pull off a four-wicket win over New Zealand and take a 2-0 lead in the series.His unbeaten 51 off 26 balls, built around a crucial partnership with fellow Hyderabadi Nitish Kumar Reddy, helped India pull off the chase. The numbers suggest a destructive knock, but the story behind them was one of patience, belief and impeccable timing. At one stage, Tilak was struggling on 10 off nine balls. While the pressure mounted and the required runs kept climbing, he refused to panic. Instead, he trusted his ability to make up for the slow start when it mattered most. And when the moment arrived, he exploded into life."I wanted to take the game deep as much as possible, and at the end of the day, again, what everyone has believed, I have done it. So I'm really proud of myself," said Tilak.It was a familiar script from a batter who has repeatedly shown that the longer the game goes, the more dangerous he can become.THRIVING UNDER PRESSUREWatching Tilak bat can sometimes test a fan's patience. There are moments when you find yourself urging him to accelerate, especially in an era when record-breaking chases have become routine and batters seem to clear the boundary at will.But Tilak doesn't always play by the modern game's rules. He is willing to take his time, assess the situation and trust that the opportunity to accelerate will come. And Christchurch was far from the first time he had made that approach work.On January 25, 2025, Tilak produced a familiar rescue act at Chepauk, a venue synonymous with MS Dhoni's finishing exploits. India were chasing 166 against England but had been reduced to 78 for five inside the 10th over. With the top order back in the pavilion and the chase threatening to unravel, Tilak stepped up with 72 off 55 balls to guide India home.The script was strikingly similar in the 2025 Asia Cup final against Pakistan. Once again, India's top order faltered, leaving the team at 20 for three after four overs while chasing 147. Tilak responded with an unbeaten 69 off 53 balls, holding the innings together and steering India through a tense final.At the 2026 Asian Games, he once again delivered when it mattered, smashing 51 off 22 balls in the final to help India post a formidable total.Different matches, different conditions, but a recurring theme: when India's back is against the wall, Tilak has a knack for finding a way out.His starts may not always be explosive, but his ability to finish games has become one of his biggest strengths. It is a quality that his teammates, and perhaps even some of his impatient fans, need to understand.Former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik explained why Tilak's approach works and why the batters around him need to trust the process."First, it's important for the rest of the batters who are batting around him to realise that he is somebody who takes the first few balls, assesses. He's not going to take a huge risk unless it is the last 2 or 3 overs of the game. He's not going to take a huge risk because he backs himself to get back-to-back boundaries quite easily at the back end of the game. And he plays shots, which is very tough to set fields for. So as a batter, you have to be prepared to take on the risk if he's there at the start, because one thing Tilak Verma has shown time and again.""Under pressure, he knows how to thrive. It's a very important core skill of a finisher and why he has been so successful in this period where he's batted 5 and 6 is because he is able to have the courage. In the first few balls to believe that if he's there at the end I'll score runs. You see his interviews as well. That's what he says. I know at the end I can make it up," said Dinesh Karthik.For Karthik, Tilak's value goes beyond the runs he scores. His ability to recover from a slow start and still deliver the finish is a skill that a scorecard alone cannot capture."He didn't get off to a flyer as a start. In spite of that, he got the job done. Now, that for me is a very special skill, and he's not done it now. Asia Cup final against Pakistan in a tough game. He pulled it through for us. Asian Games on a bad pitch. He got the job done and he's done it time and time again.""That's an attribute that you cannot see on the scorecard. You have to be able to be part of the team or watch him closely to realise how much value it brings," said Karthik.LET TILAK STAY AT NO.5If Tilak has found a formula that works, India's next challenge is to resist the temptation to tinker with it. He has excelled at No.3, but his recent performances suggest that the middle order, particularly the No.5 and No.6 positions, is where he can make the greatest impact as a finisher.India have options in Axar Patel and Naman Dhir who can be deployed as floaters. Tilak, meanwhile, appears to have found his sweet spot in the lower middle order, where he can assess the situation before unleashing his full range of strokes.The numbers back up that argument. In the 16th to 20th overs of T20 cricket in 2026, Tilak has scored 470 runs off 203 balls at a strike rate of 231.52. He has hit 32 fours and 37 sixes, with a boundary percentage of 33.99.Those figures underline just how devastating he can be once he gets going. The challenge for India is to give him the time and role he needs to reach that stage.Ajay Jadeja, too, highlighted the belief that allows Tilak to turn seemingly difficult chases around."If you divide his innings into two halves, he scored 51 runs off 26 balls, but he was on 10 runs off nine balls. Naman Dhir was hitting at that stage, and he (Tilak) had the belief that this total would also be chased if he stayed till the end. He turned the game in the next 15-16 balls. It only happens when you have the belief," said Ajay Jadeja."In whatever I have seen of him, when the opposition stops bowling length and becomes defensive, his game is such that he picks the yorkers, which the entire world gets stuck against, very well. He hit outstanding shots. He hasn't done this for the first time."Tilak's record across batting positions offers further food for thought. While he has two hundreds to his name at No.3, his returns at No.5 and No.6 suggest that India may have found the ideal role for his finishing abilities.In 19 matches at No.5, he has scored 451 runs at an average of 37.58. At No.6, his average climbs to 82.66, while his strike rate rises to 195.27.India don't necessarily need Tilak to start every innings at a blistering pace. They need him to read the game, absorb the pressure and deliver when the opposition believes it has the upper hand. That is precisely what he has done time and again.The temptation in modern T20 cricket is to judge every batter by how quickly they get off the mark. Tilak is a reminder that a slow start doesn't have to mean a slow finish. Sometimes, the smartest move is to wait for the right moment before turning the game on its head.Much like a Hyderabadi dum biryani, his best work cannot be rushed. The preparation takes time, the pressure builds, and the real magic happens towards the end. Give Tilak the right role, trust his instincts and let him finish the job. Because when the dum is done right, the wait is always worth it.- Ends