NEW DELHI: A balmy April night under the Lucknow lights offered a high-scoring thriller not so long back, with Mumbai Indians chasing 204 against Lucknow Super Giants in the 16th match of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL). The equation had boiled down to 24 runs off seven balls with five wickets in hand when, suddenly, Tilak Varma, batting on 25 from 23 deliveries, was asked to walk back. Retired out. The crowd stood stunned. For the southpaw, it was perhaps a tad more than painful, as only three others had suffered that fate in IPL history. Mumbai lost, and captain Hardik Pandya, along with coach Mahela Jayawardene, defended the "retired out" call, mentioning the 22-year-old's struggle to find the big hits. Their explanation, however, did little to ease the young batter’

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