Indian players are on a record-breaking spree at Sabina Park, Jamaica, as Hanuma Vihari achieved a rare feat in the Test cricket with his brilliant century and unbeaten fifty in the second and final Test on Sunday, 1st September.
He is the fifth Indian cricketer after Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Rishabh Pant and captain Virat Kohli who has achieved a personal milestone in the final Test against West Indies. Hanuma shattered a 29-year-old record to become the first Indian batsman since Sachin Tendulkar in 1990 to score a hundred and a fifty in the same match while batting at No. 6 or lower in the Test cricket.
Batting at No.6, Vihari scored an unbeaten 53 in the 2nd innings which came after a class 111 in the first innings at Sabina Park to become only the 5th Indian batsman overall to achieve the feat.
With the latest achievement, the Andhra Pradesh batsman also joined the elite list of players including Tendulkar, MAK Pataudi, ML Jaisimha and Polly Umrigar.
- Polly Umrigar 56 & 172* against West Indies at Port-of-Spain (1962)
- MAK Pataudi 64 & 148 against England at Leeds (1967)
- ML Jaisimha 74 & 101 against Australia at Brisbane (1968)
- Sachin Tendulkar 68 & 119* against England at Manchester (1990)
- Hanuma Vihari 111 & 53* against West Indies at Jamaica (2019)
After hitting a ton, Vihari dedicated his maiden Test hundred to his late father, adding: “Actually, my dad passed away when I was 12. Ever since I decided that when I play international cricket, I would dedicate my first hundred to my dad and today is an emotional day. I hope he is proud wherever he is.”
On the challenges of batting at No. 6 and scoring big runs for the team, he said: “When you're batting at No. 6, your intent should always be positive. That's a position where you will be batting with one batsman and then if a wicket falls, the wicketkeeper and then the lower-order. My mindset was always positive. I walked in when Virat Kohli was batting. I could rub off the confidence which he was showing.”
Vihari signed off by saying, “It's not been easy. All my Tests have come overseas. Playing away is a tough challenge but I am a sort of person who relishes challenges.”
Noteworthy, Vihari is merely five-Test old, but it seems that he has solved India’s No 6 dilemma in Tests, which could make it difficult for Rohit Sharma to find a place in the format.
Bumrah became only third bowler to have produced a hat-trick in Test cricket, while Ishant became most successful fast-bowler in the format outside Asia, and Pant became second and fastest India keeper to claim 50 Test dismissals.
On the other hand, Kohli became only the 4th Asian batsman to score more than 9,000 international runs outside the continent during the second innings at Jamaica.
(With India Today Inputs)
