Hanuma Vihari is providing India same level of serenity as Pujara provided: Sunil Gavaskar

On Friday, Sunil Gavaskar, the veteran batsman, lauded Hanuma Vihari, saying he was “extremely pleased” with the way the batter performed in his first match at No. 3. Vihari, who replaced Cheteshwar Pujara in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Mohali, smashed a strong fifty on the first day.

Hanuma Vihari, who was just in his second innings at home, immediately adjusted to his new position, hammering the Sri Lankan attack for runs. On his way to fifty in 93 balls, Vihari hit five boundaries.

After making his debut as an opener in 2018, Vihari has spent the most of his time batting in the bottom middle order. It was just Vihari’s second Test match at home, and he made the most of the occasion, debuting at No. 3.

After India’s removal of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane for the Sri Lanka series, Vihari was given the opportunity to bat at No. 3. After India lost openers Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal in the first session, the 28-year-old, who has batted at No. 3 and scored a lot of runs for his home country, looked unfazed, offering a sense of serenity to the dressing room.

“He has instilled the same feeling of tranquilly in the Indian dressing room as Pujara once did.” You could take a deep breath when Pujara was at the crease. “You could see one end was going to be tight,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.

Take a look at how straight the bat is. Full-faced bats have provided the majority of the runs. Because of the way he has been batting, there has been no apprehension in the dressing room. He’s looking fantastic.

Consider the amount of time he must get into position. That is very remarkable He performed admirably in South Africa, where the pitches were far more demanding. “He farmed the strike in the second inning to bat with the tail and score critical runs,” he remarked.

Vihari warmed up for the Sri Lanka Test series by hitting fifty and a century in Hyderabad’s Ranji Trophy victory last week against Chandigarh. Vihari put on a 38-run partnership with Mayank Agarwal before putting on a 90-run stand with Virat Kohli, who was dismissed for 45 in his 100th Test match.