Tilak Varma century steers Hampshire towards safe passage

Tilak Varma once again proved his enormous talent with his second century in three matches as Hampshire fought hard to keep title-challenging Nottinghamshire at bay at Utilita Bowl.

India prodigy Varma added 112 to take his average in his Hampshire stint to just under 79. He put on 42 with Nick Gubbins, 58 with Ben Brown, and most substantially 126 with Felix Organ to bite into Nottinghamshire's large 578 first-innings score.

Organ ended the day unbeaten on 71 with 61 runs still needed to avoid the follow-on - in doing so Hampshire should be safe from defeat on the final day.

Fletcha Middleton and Joe Weatherley had hunkered down for 32 overs of hard graft the previous evening. They got their rewards by collecting half-centuries in the morning. Neither showed any flashiness, just survival-style opening batting - putting on 94 together.

That was unsurprising for Weatherley who was playing his first red ball match for two years, having lost favour in the Championship and fallen behind Middleton, Toby Albert, Felix Organ, Mark Stoneman, Ali Orr, Ian Holland in recent years.

He reached 52 but was bounced out by Mo Abbas - caught on the hook. Middleton also scored 52 and fell on Nelson when he edged Abbas behind.

It suddenly felt like an inevitable Abbas day. The Pakistan international had spearheaded the Hampshire attack for four seasons, taking 180 wickets at an average below 20. The Weatherley scalp was his 100th at Utilita Bowl.

He was back in his familiar surroundings, not least because the keys to 'his' Hilton Hotel suite on the ground had been handed back to him for this week - famously having blocked Manchester City Pep Guardiola from taking the room a few years ago.

But despite his mid-morning burst, the Kookaburra ball softened and fast bowling was a game of patience, while the pitch didn't offer regular turn for the spinners. Not that it stopped Liam Patterson-White ripping one to pin Nick Gubbins lbw playing not shot, before Tom Prest loosely hoicked to mid-on.

Brown looked like the man to stick with Varma, but after a 58-run alliance, the Hampshire captain was leg-before to Lyndon James.

Josh Tongue had been released by England for the last two days of the match. He replaced Brett Hutton at the beginning of the day but went wicketless in his 18 overs. Notts' bowlers otherwise toiled for little reward - and will have taken pleasure at the rate never reaching three runs an over.

In a low red-ball period for Hampshire, Varma has been a giant. His arrival, which came thanks to Indian owners GMR Group's influence, has brought a calmness to the middle-order, with plenty of runs to match.

He opened with a century against Essex, before 56 and 47 versus Worcestershire and then this century - during those innings he has barely looked like being dislodged. Varma's judgement of line and length is a superpower, with the ability to boundaries when the right parameters are met for risk.

He already has 29 international caps, they will surely only surge in a short amount of time. The left-hander's century came in 203 deliveries, although he was outdone for patience by Organ, who took zero risks, with large spells of no scoring.

Organ's second fifty of the season came in 138 balls, and even with Varma strangled down the leg side, Hampshire will feel almost safe.