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Tilak Varma labelled "fraud" as angry fans bash him for "one of the worst T20 knocks" in 1st NZ T20I

India’s vice‑captain Tilak Varma was promoted to No 3 in the first T20I against New Zealand at Hagley Oval, Christchurch, but managed only six runs from 11 balls without a boundary, falling to Michael Bracewell. His dot‑ball spell contributed to the loss of Sanju Samson’s wicket as New Zealand posted a daunting 225/4, highlighted by Glenn Phillips’s 82, Tim Seifert’s 24 and Finn Allen’s 45.

Despite a strong start from Sanju Samson (67 off 33) and Abhishek Sharma, India required 27 runs from the final 2.5 overs with Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel at the crease, while Naman Dhir prepared to join. Fans on social media lambasted Varma’s performance, calling it one of the worst T20 knocks in history.

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