Opinion
Earlier this week India exhibited a solid act of defiance to save the Sydney Test.
Facing a target of 407 in four sessions, they replied with 334 runs for the loss of five wickets to draw the match. More importantly, they battled for 131 overs and put up a brave performance.
Fortune favoured the Indians, with mistimed shots not carrying and catches dropped in the field, but nothing should be taken away from the visitors, who dug deep into their inventory and drew inspiration.
Everyone from India’s batting order contributed – barring Ajinkya Rahane’s four – but the real MVPs were middle-order batsman Hanuma Vihari (23* in 161 balls) and bowling all-rounder Ravi Ashwin (39 runs in 128 balls).
They batted for over three and a half hours, faced 43 overs from the Australian bowlers and remained unbeaten.
Both fought injuries and made sure India will go to the series decider at the Gabba in high spirits.
While Ashwin’s spot in India’s Test team has never been in contention, the performance in Sydney will go a long way in cementing Vihari’s spot in the Indian Test side.
Vihari edges and a chance goes down late on the final day…
Live coverage: https://t.co/xdDaedY10F #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/UdVjUmKYrS
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 11, 2021
Hanuma Vihari: a tough customer
Hanuma Vihari has shown mental toughness since his early days. He lost his father at the age of 12, but within three days he played an innings of around 80 in a school final.
The knock in Sydney was the slowest ever in Test history to get to the double digits, yet stand-in skipper Rahane deemed the 23 runs as more important than Vihari’s 2018 Test century in the West Indies.
He is out of the Gabba Test and may not find a place for himself in the upcoming home Test series against England. India usually prefer to play five batsmen, a wicketkeeper and five bowlers, including all-rounders, at home.
However, Vihari has been an important part of the Indian Test side in overseas conditions. Only one of his 12 Tests has come at home. The remaining have taken place in England, Australia, the West Indies and New Zealand.
In his short career Vihari has made telling contributions on more than one occasion.
On his debut at The Oval against England in 2018 he scored a gritty 56 in conditions suited to quick bowlers. A few months later he dug deep to defy Australia’s fearsome pace attack of Pat Cummins, Mitch Starc and Josh Hazlewood in his second-ever Test at Perth’s Optus Stadium.
One of his more underrated performances came in the next match at the MCG. India came in the Boxing Day Test with the series tied at 1-1 and Australia holding the momentum.
The visitors decided to replace their misfiring openers and promoted Vihari to partner debuting Mayank Agarwal.
He stood firm against the barrage of Australian pacers and faced 66 balls in 90 minutes to score eight runs. More importantly, he ensured that the ball had got soft by the time Cheteshwar Pujara came out to bat. Pujara’s century was crucial when India won the match to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
In India’s 2019 tour of West Indies, Vihari scored two 50s, including one 90, and a fighting century at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica. He followed that up with a fighting 50 against New Zealand in Christchurch, albeit in a losing effort.
Vihari’s next assignment is likely to be after more than six months, either at the inaugural ICC World Test Championship final or in the Test series in England.
He would like to play a telling role in the tricky assignments.
Vihari and the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Before the series began Vihari received the public backing by India’s regular captain, Virat Kohli. Kohli singled him out as a key batsman for India in the series while talking to Steve Smith.
Vihari batted well in the warm-up matches but failed in the first two Tests.
The team were in high spirits after winning in Melbourne, but the Sydney Test was proving tough for the batsman.
He misjudged a single to get run out as India crumbled in the first innings and then dropped Marnus Labuschagne’s easy catch in Australia’s second innings. When he came out to bat on the final day at the SCG, India were four down and had to bat for around 50 overs.
Matters got worse when, after nine overs, Pujara got out. By then Vihari had already suffered a hamstring tear while attempting a quick single. Ravindra Jadeja’s wrist fracture meant that Ashwin was promoted to No. 7, but the all-rounder was suffering from back spasms.
India had two injured players in the middle, only one of them an out-and-out batsman. Jadeja padded up in the dressing room as part of their infamous tail to bat over 40 overs to save the match.
In the adverse situation Vihari looked like a warrior when he got going.
Popping painkillers every time the drinks were called, he played out 130 deliveries after Pujara’s wicket to save the match for India with competent partner in Ashwin.
The whole nation applauded every time he middled the Australian pacers and held its breath whenever he got beaten. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when Australia captain, Tim Paine, dropped Vihari off Starc’s bowling with around nine overs to go.
The entire India celebrated together when Vihari and Ashwin saved the match for India.
A one-format player or someone close to the cricketing basics?
Vihari has built a reputation as a one-format player. Albeit possessing skills to be a decent T20 player, he has focused on building a solid technique to play long innings. He loves batting and practices whenever he can.
After going unsold in the 2015 IPL auction, Vihari chose to focus on the longest format of the game. In the summers of 2014 and 2015 he went to England and played for the Hutton Cricket Club in the Shepherd Neame Essex League. He scored six centuries during his stint.
Vihari has also performed well whenever he has turned out for the India A teams.
His T20 numbers are not good enough, but Vihari has been one of the most prolific Ranji Trophy players in recent years. In 90 career first-class matches he has scored 7094 runs at an average of just under 57. He has scored 21 centuries and 36 fifties with a highest score of 302*.
When Vihari debuted in August 2018 he had the world’s best first-class average at 59.45. Steve Smith ranked second with 57.27.
Interestingly, he is the only player from India’s 2012 under-19s World Cup-winning squad to be a regular in India’s teams across formats. He was one of the underperformers of the tournament, having scored 71 runs in six innings at an average of under 12.
Since then he has come far with sheer determination and grit. While some of his colleagues from that team haven’t been able to make big, Vihari’s stock has kept rising.
He has gained a fan in Sachin Tendulkar for his batting style, and his youth coach, John Manoj, has backed him to be India’s next VVS Laxman. Being able to play both as an opener and in the middle order has led Vihari to gain the trust of the team management and Kohli.
In the era when T20 cricket is going rampant and the T10 format is gaining some footing, he is a talented, old-school cricketer with an indomitable spirit.
So long as the sport exists, players like Hanuma Vihari will never go out of style.
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