ENG vs IND 2018: Virat Kohli's Inputs Helped Me: Hanuma Vihari

Hanuma Vihari, on Sunday, credited skipper Virat Kohli after scoring a fine fifty on his debut in the fifth England vs India Test at The Oval.

That the debutant was struggling to remain calm on his debut was very much clear when he began his maiden Test innings. He would have departed on the very third ball he faced after being hit on the pad by a Stuart Broad delivery. However, England decided against reviewing the decision when the umpire gave his decision in the batsman’s favour.

On his seventh ball, he was given out but he got a reprieve thanks to DRS. And from thereon, Vihari went on to show why the team gambled on him. After showing nerves on day two, he began the proceedings on day three with much confidence. The conditions were tough for the batsmen but Vihari showed remarkable composure to hang on. The debutant went on to score a fifty on his debut, thus becoming the fourth Indian to score a fifty on his debut in England. He, however, could not convert his fifty into a big score and fell for 56.

But his dodgy knock, nonetheless, helped India claw their way back into the game. India were 160 for 6 when Ravindra Jadeja joined him in the middle. And the duo added 77 runs to revive India’s reply. Jadeja went on to score an unbeaten 86 as India finished on 292.

Speaking at the end of day’s play, Vihari admitted he was under pressure while facing Stuart Broad and James Anderson in tough conditions on debut. He further revealed how skipper Virat Kohli helped him settle down and get over the nerves.

“Initially I felt the pressure, to be honest, going in yesterday, cloudy conditions and Stuart Broad and (James) Anderson bowling at you,” he admitted.

“Initially, as I said, I had nerves. With that, I wasn’t good with my decision making. But having Virat [Kohli] at the other end made my job a little easier, I guess. His inputs helped me initially. He’s been playing very confidently throughout the series and his confidence boosted me at the other end. I will give a lot of credit to him for helping me out yesterday initially. But once I settled down, the wicket was very good to bat on especially with the medium pacers it got a lot slower yesterday. I got myself in and tried to capitalise as much as I could,” he added.

What has further impressed the cricketing world is Vihari’s calmness. During the course of his knock, he faced some verbal volleys from England star Ben Stokes. However, the debutant showed remarkable composure as he didn’t even budge and went on to save the team from a precarious position.

“Usually when I bat, I try to ignore all the things which (come) at me. I just tried to focus on my own game. That’s the style of cricket I tried to play. Obviously, Virat is very aggressive as you’ll know. He also had a go at (Ben Stokes). That’s how the game is played nowadays and that’s how Indian cricket is.

“But my aggression is something which I want to do with the bat. Obviously, if it gets personal then I might say something back at him. But as long as it’s healthy then everyone likes to have some banter on the cricket field. My style of play is to try to ignore and focus on my own game,” he said.

England, meanwhile, finished the day on 114 for 2, thus extending their overall lead to 154.