Friday great hitter Sunil Gavaskar praised Hanuma Vihari and said he was extremely impressed with the way the hitter went about his business in his first match at 3rd place. Vihari, who took Cheteshwar Pujara’s place in the first test against Sri Lanka in Mohali, hit a solid fifty on the opening day.
Hanuma Vihari, only playing his second inning at home, adjusted to his new role and got his runs easily against the Sri Lankan attack. Vihari hit 5 limits as he got to his 50 in 93 balls.
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Vihari had batted in the lower middle class over the years, having opened batting on his debut in 2018. It was only the Hyderabad batsman’s second test game at home and Vihari capitalized on the opportunity well, making an early impression in 3rd place.
Vihari got the opportunity to beat at No. 3 after India dropped Cheteshwar Pujara along with Ajinkya Rahane for the Sri Lanka series. Struggling to finish 3rd and scoring plenty of runs for his home side, the 28-year-old appeared unconcerned and brought a sense of calm to the dressing room after India lost their openers Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal in the first session.
VERY IMPRESSIVE: GAVASKAR PRAISES VIHARI
“He brought the same sense of calm to the Indian dressing room that Pujara used to have. When Pujara was at the crease, it was easy to breathe. They knew one end was going to be tight,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.
“He was very impressive. Look at the straightness of the racquet. Most of the runs came from the full face of the racquet. Not once would the dressing room have felt any nervousness because of the way he was hitting. He looked so good.
“Look at the time it takes him to get into position. Very impressive. He was impressive in South Africa, where the pitches were far more difficult. he added.
Vihari has been warming up for the Sri Lanka Test Series, scoring fifty and a hundred against Chandigarh in Hyderabad’s win in their Ranji Trophy match last week. Vihari sewed a 38-run stand with Mayank Agarwal and then a 90-run stand with Virat Kohli, who folded for 45 in his 100th Test match.
