Not many batsmen in present-day cricket can boast of a first-class average of 59.79. For Hanuma Vihari then, the score of 56 in his only Test innings – the first innings of the ongoing fifth and final Test against England at The Oval – seems rather apt.
That average won’t always stay where it is right now, and he might well have been dismissed for very little in his first outing had Stuart Broad called for a review after hitting Vihari’s pads early on in his innings.
It was nerves, Vihari admitted. “Initially, I felt the pressure going in – cloudy conditions and Stuart Broad and [James] Anderson bowling at you. Once I got myself in, it eased my nerves,” he said.
People who have seen him play in the Indian domestic circuit talk about Vihari’s calm and composure, and the penchant for playing long innings – he has 15 first-class centuries including a best of 302*. No surprise then that after the good start, Vihari is looking at the long haul.
“It’s just the start. I know I have to do a lot of things to cement my place in the Indian team, which I definitely want to do. Getting a half-century on debut is just the start,” he said.
How he goes in the Indian second innings, with England likely to set a target of around 300, will go a long way in giving him, and the team management, and idea of where he stands.
