“Unfortunately, it didn’t happen, but I am happy that I could contribute to the team’s success. Maybe, one day will come when I will cross that three-figure mark,” said Hanuma Vihari at the end of the first Test in Antigua as he fell seven runs short of a well-deserved maiden Test ton. The Andhra batsman didn’t have to wait very long; Saturday was that day when he would cross that three-figure mark which he dedicated to his late father, who passed away when Vihari was 12 years of age.
Hanuma Vihari scored his first Test ton on Saturday after missing the mark in Antigua. AFP
While Jasprit Bumrah has exclusively featured in India’s overseas Tests — since India are trying to manage the workload of the greatest fast bowling talent to emerge from there — Vihari has been a prisoner of the schedule and has played all his six Tests away from home. He has been moved around the order too, and has tried to do his best to keep the contenders for the sixth spot in the line up at bay, and his century at Sabina Park would go a long way to cement it.
Vihari said that he “did not sleep very well” as Day 1 action in Jamaica ended with him on 42. If he was feeling any tiredness, he would get a jolt as he would lose his partner Rishabh Pant on the first delivery of Day 2. At 264/6, with Ravindra Jadeja and the bowlers to come, on a pitch that still provided movement and the ball just seven overs old, Vihari couldn’t afford to think about his hundred as he had to ensure India reached a comfortable score.
India’s vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane said that he was very happy for Vihari — a player who has done well in first-class cricket and could turn that into a pretty decent start in international cricket as well. Followers of Indian cricket have heard of him for a while and one would think he must be a veteran of the domestic scene in his thirties but he is just a young man of 25.
He boasts a fantastic first-class record, averaging almost 60, with a best of an undefeated 302. He performed quite well on the India A's tour of England in 2018 which put him on the selectors’ watchlist of back-up batsmen and would soon be included in India’s Test squad for the last two Tests in England last year.
Vihari received special mentions from skipper Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri on his contribution as a makeshift opener, and his performances with India A on the tour to West Indies prior to this Test series, and his ability to bowl off-spin, got him selected for the contentious and competitive sixth spot for the Test at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
During the second innings in Antigua, as he approached his first Test hundred and the team looked to declare, Vihari tried to score quickly to get to his 90s and then coast to the landmark. However, it didn’t exactly work out the way he wanted.
In Jamaica, Vihari reached lunch at 84, and with no pressure of declaration, he knew he had time on his side. However, he was made to work quite hard to get going after lunch by a rejuvenated Shannon Gabriel and the ever consistent Jason Holder. It took him 11 deliveries to reach 86, and he was stuck on that score for 31 deliveries before he received a gift from Gabriel on the pads that he put it away to the midwicket delivery.
More than all the attractive drives, sweeps and flicks he had played in a terrific innings, it was this passage of play that highlighted the true credentials of Vihari as a Test batsman — that he was willing to bide his time for the right delivery and not being consumed by the desire to get to a major personal milestone. Eight of the 31 deliveries were left alone, few others defended safely and the rest found the fielders.
“I was patient,” said Vihari at the end of the day, and credited the opposition for “bowling well after lunch” and make him earn his runs. Ishant Sharma was an equal contributor to the partnership as the two one-time Sunrisers Hyderabad members and now Delhi Capitals teammates realised over a 100 runs, which would make Vihari comment, tongue firmly in cheek, that “(Ishant) looked more like a batsman than me.”
Ishant and Vihari reached their personal milestones; the former was welcomed with hooting and hollering from the Indian dressing room and the latter with a standing ovation reflective of the respect Vihari has already earned amongst his teammates for his thoughtful batsmanship.
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