The Indian Test specialist, Hanuma Vihari has said that winning the Sydney Test against Australia was out of the question, once Rishabh Pant and Cheteshwar Pujara got dismissed on the afternoon of Day 5 in Sydney. Batting out 258 balls with a fierce Australia throwing everything it had up its sleeves is no mean feat. But the Indian duo of Vihari and R Ashwin stood ground and managed to do just that, as they churned out a draw in what was nothing short of an action-packed day in the third Test.
Talking about the same during a chat with ESPNCricinfo, Hanauma Vihari said, “If you look at the first session and most part of the second session, we were looking good for a win. Even before my injury, Ash [R Ashwin] was struggling with his back, [Ravindra] Jadeja could have played only a few overs if needed. The draw came in when we knew that Ash couldn’t run, and then when my hamstring injury happened.”
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He further added, “We batted one ball at a time, one over at a time, me and Ash. We got messages from outside but we had already decided that he was going to face [Nathan] Lyon and I would face the fast bowlers. One he was batting well against Lyon and also I couldn’t stretch against the spinner with my hamstring. It panned out well. He was facing Lyon with ease on a day-five pitch, and I was pretty comfortable against the fast bowlers.”
When asked about the 36 all-out in the first Test at Adelaide, Vihari said explained that after suffering a debacle in the Adelaide Test, the Indian team never spoke about the game.
Viagra explained, “We only felt that it has never happened before, I don’t think it will ever happen again. It was a freak inning. So let’s move on and let’s look at it as a three-Test series from Melbourne. Now if you look at it, we have won the series 2-0. The Indian team, the character, and the fight we show, we leave everything on the ground. That’s the hallmark of the Indian team. That’s exactly how we played.”
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On Tuesday, Australia’s fortress — The Gabba — was finally breached. It took 32 years and two months, but the unthinkable was achieved as an injury-ravaged young Indian team beat Australia by three wickets against all odds to take the series 2-1.
