India’s Test batsman Hanuma Vihari showed immense guts and valiant fightback alongside R Ashwin to ensure a historic draw for India Cricket Team in the third Pink Test against Australia at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Monday (January 11).
Vihari fought with much grit and determination to play 161 deliveries on Day 5 to score 23 runs while dealing with a hamstring issue, as well as, stitched a vigilant 62*-run stand with Ashwin, who himself had back problems but played 128 deliveries to save the third Test for India.
Ashwin and Vihari put up a brave side in front despite dealing with the injuries to do the job at hand at that time for their team, as the duo batted for more than 3 hours to make sure Team India draw the SCG Test against Australia on Monday.
Vihari suffered a hamstring injury early in his innings when he tried to take a quick single with Cheteshwar Pujara and scans have reportedly revealed a grade 2 tear in his right hamstring.
Speaking to ANI, sources in the team management have revealed that Vihari has a Grade 2 tear which has not only ruled him out of the final Test in Brisbane but also puts him in doubt for the home Tests against England since the injury usually takes 3 to 6 weeks to heal completely.
He said: “His scan reports are in and he has a Grade 2 tear which means the boy batted for around 3 hours with searing pain. He deserves praise for standing there and holding fort like a true champion.”
In a video posted by BCCI on Twitter, Hanuma said: “That session was a real experience for me. It was something that you can only dream of, batting on day five. The series is 1-1 and if you can do it for the team, the satisfaction, I think it will slowly sink and then we will realize how big of an effort that was.
Was really happy how Ash, like an elder brother, was communicating and telling me let's focus one ball at a time and take it as deep as possible. The communication that we had was really special.”
He added: “Getting a draw out of it was a fabulous result for us. I feel if I was not injured and Puji would have been there for some more time, we would have had a different result, maybe a fabulous win but nonetheless, I feel 10 points out of this is a massive result for us.”
(With ANI Inputs)
