"Play for MI in IPL and enjoy VIP treatment" - Fans blast Tilak Varma for golden duck in IND vs SA 3rd T20I

Tilak Varma continued a surprisingly poor run with a first-ball duck in the third and final T20I against South Africa in Johannesburg on December 14.

Trailing 0-1 and faced with a must-win situation to avoid series defeat, India began with a bang. The Men in Blue raced to 29/0 in two overs when Proteas skipper Aiden Markram brought on spinner Keshav Maharaj.

Maharaj immediately struck in his second delivery with the wicket of Shubman Gill. Tilak Varma walked in at No.3 and played a reckless shot to a full delivery straight to the hands of the mid-off fielder off his first ball.

Back-to-back wickets pegged India back to 29/2 from 29/0 and derailed the momentum. Coming to Tilak Varma, the youngster earned national selection following his impressive IPL season, scoring 343 runs at an average of 42.88 and a strike rate of over 164.

The 21-year-old carried on his excellent form in his debut T20I series against the West Indies, scoring 39, 51, and 49* in his first three outings. However, Tilak has scored only 169 runs in the next seven innings at an average of under 25.

The southpaw has also been out for a score of less than five a staggering four times in those seven stints.

With batters like Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shreyas Iyer not featuring in the XI, fans did not take too kindly to Tilak Varma consistently playing ahead of them.

Here are some of the best reactions:

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Team India stage a strong recovery after the twin strikes

Jaiswal continued to impress with a well-compiled half-century.

Despite the twin strikes in the third over, India kept its foot on the accelerator, thanks to opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and skipper Suryakumar Yadav. Coming off a duck in the second T20I, Jaiswal was back to his best, notching up his second half-century in the format.

The southpaw stayed true to his attacking instincts and reached the milestone in only 34 deliveries.

Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav continued his excellent form from the previous game to resurrect the Indian innings. Ranked the No.1 batter in the world in T20Is, the versatile batter looked assured from the get-go and stitched a century partnership with Jaiswal.

The skipper also brought up his half-century in the process off 32 deliveries as the duo took India to a dominant 131/2 in 13 overs.

India must win the ongoing clash to avoid their first T20I series to South Africa since 2015/16.