NEW DELHI, April 21 (Reuters) - Mired in a four-match losing streak, Mumbai Indians needed something special to revitalise their Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign and batter Tilak Varma duly delivered with an unbeaten century in Monday's win over Gujarat Titans.
The middle-order batter smashed 101 off 45 balls to lead the five-time champions to a 99-run win that hauled them off the bottom of the table and up to seventh in the 10-team league.
Varma's previous best this season was 20 and the 23-year-old said he had struck form at just the right time.
"The first hundred will always be special - and to be honest, it was very important for us," he added.
"We don’t have much time from here. Every game is important for us."
Batting at number five, Varma collected 19 from his first 22 balls before racing to his first IPL hundred in just 45 balls.
After going five innings without a six, he launched seven against a potent Gujarat attack that included Mohammed Siraj, Kagiso Rabada and Rashid Khan.
"In the last five games, I haven’t spent much time in the middle. So I was just thinking that in this game, I want to spend time in the middle," he said.
"If you see the first 20 balls, I was just going ball-by-ball. Later on, once I had faced a few balls, I knew what I am capable of.
"I was stable, keeping my head still and following my basics. I’ve got all the fancy shots - when the team needs, I can use that."
Mumbai captain Hardik Pandya, who played a largely support role in an 81-run stand with Varma, never doubted his teammate's talent.
"The only thing I kept telling him (was) - you're goint to just watch the ball and hit the ballbecause I genuinely believe the kind of (way the) ball travels from his bat is something really special," Pandya said.
(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Peter Rutherford)
