‘Inspirational and heart wrenching’ – Fans salute Hanuma Vihari for batting with fractured hand for second time in Ranji Trophy
India batter Hanuma Vihari batted for a second time with a wrist fracture in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final. He did this for the team’s cause and with the sole intention of saving Andhra from capitulating in the second innings of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal. He also braved the pain and came out to bat in the first innings. Vihari also hit two fours and he batted left-handed.
He had a fracture on his right wrist and used his bat almost like a sword while batting. His brave innings under the circumstances helped Andhra post a sizeable score of 379 in the first innings. Andhra kept Madhya Pradesh down to 228 runs. The Andhra captain came out when his side were in dire straits at 76-9.
His teammates gave him well-deserved applause and a rousing reception when he came to bat for the second time as well. He hit three fours in his short innings, which consisted of 15 runs off 16 balls. The star batter was eventually bowled by Saransh Jain.
He played a similar innings braving injury at Sydney in 2021 and took India to a draw
Andhra fell like nine pins in the second innings and were all out for 93. Andhra gave a 245-run target to Madhya Pradesh. At the time of writing, It is the first session of Day 4, Madhya Pradesh are 103-1 after 30 overs. They need 132 runs to win the quarter-final for this edition of the Ranji Trophy.
Vihari was looked at as a classical batter who could fit in the India Test side in the middle order. He was seen as a batter in the mould of Rahul Dravid and Cheteshwar Pujara. He could also chip in with the ball and bowl some handy overs of off-spin. Shreyas Iyer’s rise into the Test side, however, has seen the Andhra captain being sidelined.
He also demonstrated great resilience in the Sydney Test where he had a back injury and he couldn’t run between the wickets, but along with Ravichandran Ashwin braved a hostile spell of bowling by the Australians and took India to a famous draw in that Test. India went on to win the Test at Brisbane and took the series 2-1 after the heroic draw at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Let us take a look at the reactions on Twitter-
It's not about how much he scored or was that score enough, it's about that boost he gave the rest of his teammates.
— Reddy V (@Jameshalpert_) February 1, 2023
https://twitter.com/deepinthemonies/status/1620825064945090561?s=20&t=VOK7OIlT8ed6FujNsIaWOA
Inspirational and heart wrenching moment .. How passionate and dedicated towards your life .. Anna ..im feeling jealous of you ..that.. how a human can love this much his profession .. So so inspirational .. Cant stop clapping .. Impeccable 👏👏🏻
— UrsBhasky TrueDHFM 💛👌🏻⭐MB (@SitsmeBhaskar) February 2, 2023
Highly superlative and unparalleled in history. This reaffirms your commitment to the nation and the team, Australia innings was unforgetful and this one is equally magnanimous. More Strength and more power to you. Want to see you back in Indian XI asap. Get well soon Hanuma
— ~Sud !! 🇮🇳 (@Sttuddss) February 2, 2023
@Hanumavihari Thanks for raising the bar of playing for the team in spite of a fracture. In an age where many skip Ranji, you have showed what it means to don the cap for your state and fight it out. Kudos Champ!!
— BB (@banjobaj) February 2, 2023
Loved the attitude… rock solid
And what skills… wrong hand play that too a single hand play and hewas not just able to connect but scored important runs for the team.. hats off🧢
— Venky (@vyankteshb) February 1, 2023
Proud of you 👍
Your sweat, bruises and all the hardwork you put in makes you a champion 👍— Sandeep Sharma (@getsand) February 2, 2023
Great effort mate 🙌
— Sunnysantosh (@sunnysantosh75) February 1, 2023
You are a true champ with amazing dedication. Don't give up, you certainly deserve a better deal. There are some undeserving batters in our present Test team but that should not affect you. You will surely get back into Indian Team soon, keep shining, aim high!
— Sriram (@Sri9629) February 2, 2023
You give hope to people who have none. You’ve made the impossible look effortlessly possible. This is a display that transcends beyond the cricket field. Truly inspiring 🙏
— Malolan Rangarajan (@malolanr) February 1, 2023
