"Mera time aayega." [My time will come.]
That's what Tilak Varma kept telling himself when back-to-back hand injuries kept him out of the T20I tours of Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka a few months ago. By the time he recovered, he had slipped down the pecking order. He was not part of the original squad for the Bangladesh T20Is too, but got a late call up after Shivam Dube's withdrawal with a back injury at the last moment. Tilak did not get a game in that series.
The current assignment against South Africa, therefore, marked his comeback in India colours. He started with 33 off 18 balls in the first T20I in Durban but managed only a run-a-ball 20 in Gqeberha.
Tilak revealed he was under pressure coming into the third game in Centurion. Had he not said it himself, no one would have guessed - such was his innings on Wednesday. He struck eight fours and seven sixes en route to an unbeaten 107 off 56 balls. It powered India to 219 for 6 - just enough to give them an unassailable 2-1 lead in the four-match series.
During the course of his innings, Tilak, at 22 years and 5 days, became the second-youngest to score a T20I hundred (for matches between Full Members). But what stood out in his knock was the maturity with which he changed gears.
In the first two T20Is, he had batted at No. 4. Here, with Sanju Samson dismissed for his second successive duck and the night just two balls old, Tilak walked in at No. 3.
India captain Suryakumar Yadav later said that it was not a spur-of-the-moment decision. "In Gqeberha, he [Tilak] came to my room and said, 'Give me the opportunity to bat at No. 3. Let me express myself.'"
Suryakumar took his time and on Tuesday night told Tilak, "You are going to bat at No. 3... Express yourself."
In keeping with India's recent brand of cricket, Tilak took the attack to Marco Jansen. He punched the second ball he faced past point for four before skipping down the track to launch the left-arm quick over deep third for a six.
The pitch, though, was slightly two-paced. In Jansen's next over, Tilak attempted a pull but was late on the shot. The ball brushed his helmet and flew over the wicketkeeper. Later in the over, Jansen dug a slower one into the pitch. This time Tilak was early into his pull and missed the ball altogether.
Still, he picked up two fours in the next two overs and reached 26 off 19 balls at the end of the powerplay. With Abhishek Sharma finding it easier at the other end, India were cruising at 70 for 1 after six.
As soon as the field restrictions were relaxed, Aiden Markam brought himself on. With two left-hand batters in the middle, sneaking in an over of offspin was a sound idea. This is where Tilak showed his brilliance, reversing his stance and sweeping Markram over backward point for a six.
But when Abhishek and Suryakumar got out in successive overs, Tilak realised he would have to bat deep. "It was not easy for the new batter to attack straightaway," he said later. "I wanted to take a bit of time. I wanted one partnership - that's what I was discussing with Hardik [Pandya] bhai and Rinku [Singh]."
Tilak was on 45 off 27 balls when Abhishek got out. Off his next nine balls, he scored only ten runs, and for the first time in the match, India's scoring rate dipped below 10 an over. So when Keshav Maharaj started his final over - the 15th of the innings - Tilak knew it was time to switch into higher gears and cash in on the match-up.
Until then, he had faced only three balls from Maharaj and had scored three singles off those. Now, he went 4, 6, 4, 1. In the next over, Gerald Coetzee missed his lengths, his first ball too full, his third too short. Tilak dispatched both beyond the boundary line.
Even though Rinku scored only 8 off 13 balls, Tilak's acceleration ensured India's innings did not peter out the way it had in the first T20I. He brought up his hundred off 51 balls and celebrated it by pointing - and then blowing a kiss - towards the Indian dugout. His time had come.
"I cannot put my feelings into words," he said. "It was my dream to hit a hundred for the country and I had been waiting for this moment for a long time. Coming back from an injury and hitting a hundred is incredible.
"It [the celebration] was for Surya, because he gave me this opportunity to bat at No. 3. I had told him that I was going to perform. That's why I pointed towards him."
Suryakumar, too, was effusive in his praise for Tilak. "I knew what he was capable of, and he did that. Going forward, he is definitely batting at No. 3. He asked for it; he delivered; he has earned it."