Hanuma Vihari - Sunrisers Hyderabad's symbol of stability

Hanuma VIhari bats for the Sunrisers

When the self-effacing and unassuming Hanuma Vihari walked into the middle to bat against the pillaging Mumbai team in the Ranji Trophy last year, not many could have envisaged him making a mammoth century. In that game against Mumbai, he conquered his inner demons and ground Mumbai’s bowlers into the dust. His coup de theatre act against Mumbai not only took Hyderabad to a position of strength, but it also left an indelible mark on those who follow Ranji Trophy with dedication and devotion.

Before Vihari’s eight-hour-long vigil against Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy, he was largely an unknown quantity. He struggled to do well in the under-19 World Cup Down Under, as he amassed just 71 runs over 6 games. With that mettlesome century against Mumbai though, Vihari seems to have turned his fledgling cricketing career around.

So far in the IPL, Vihari has even been responsible for constantly shoring up a fragile Sunrisers Hyderabad‘s batting line-up. In fact, he has been symbol of stability for the Sunrisers at the top of the order. Glancing at his batting average of 24.8, it can be misinterpreted that the value Vihari brings to the side is exaggerated. But the track at Rajiv Gandhi international stadium in Hyderabad hasn’t exactly been all that easy for batting.

The crux of Vihari’s batting can be elucidated by the calm, cool and collected approach that he exhibited with a willow in his hand against Kings XI Punjab. On a track that was tailor-made for the spinners, most of Punjab’s batsmen paid a heavy price for trying to smash the cover off the ball by playing agricultural hoicks across the line. On the other hand, with a relaxed gait and an uncluttered mind, Vihari’s game on that track was built on the old maxim of playing with a straight bat and using his dexterous wrists to penetrate the interstices of the ring field.

In one of Sunrisers Hyderabad’s earlier games against Royal Challengers Bangalore, he played a similar kind of knock. In that game, he stitched crucial partnerships and farmed the strike well. It was a match in which the pendulum swung back and forth. Just when it seemed like SRH’s fragile ship was about to sink, by showing downright dogged determination, Vihari launched a rescue mission to take them out of choppy waters. Finally, Sunrisers won that match in the super over.

After that game against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Hanuma Vihari said, “When early wickets fell, Tom [Moody] told me I would bat at No. 4. My plan was to take it as close as possible to the target.”

It has to be said that in the glitzy and glamorous world of IPL, Vihari is an anomaly. He certainly is not part of the club of big, muscular cricketers whose members use the willow like a bazooka to blitzkrieg opposition bowlers.

As a cricket enthusiast, I have to also throw in a word of caution here. Even thought the IPL can act as a launch pad for promising Indian cricketers, it is easy to forget that the youngsters coming through the ranks have to go through the hard grind of playing first class cricket and pass the litmus test with flying colours.

Hanuma Vihari is still just 19, and after playing 15 first-class games, he averages a modest 33.77. Only time will tell whether his gargantuan century against Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy last year can be a watershed moment in his career. Hopefully, Vihari’s first hundred has opened the floodgates for him, and he can soar to greater heights by playing some memorable knocks in the future.