Hanuma Vihari is quietly efficient. He is not one of those modern high batspeed batsmen who demolish attacks. Vihari’s strength is solidity in the middle-order. He gets behind the line, into good positions and can construct an innings.
By his standards, Vihari’s 70-ball 55 with 10 boundaries — he was the top-scorer for India — was an unusually brisk innings here on Saturday.
Vihari said: “It was a personal decision to play positively, score runs when the ball was short. And the pitch too had more pace. The ball was coming on to the bat.” About his dismissal at the stroke of Tea, Vihari mulled, “Perhaps, it was one shot too many.”
In fact, Vihari said all three batsmen who made half-centuries in the Indian innings — himself, Prithvi Shaw and Chesteshwar Pujara — got out at the wrong time.
“We would have been happier if we had got over 300. One of us should have made a hundred,” he said. Vihari said the Indians had discussed how to put the Kiwi attack under more pressure. “The bounce sometimes is spongy and it can get difficult to play shots.” On the threat from Kyle
Jamieson, Vihari said, “He’s a tall bowler, gets bounce. Then he can strike with the deliveries he pitches up.” Vihari felt the scoreboard did not reflect the intensity with which the Indian pacemen bowled in the evening. He’s nothing if not combative. Ask Vihari and he will tell you there is plenty of cricket left in the Test.
