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Undeterred by his broken wrist, the toughy Hanuma Vihari yet again displayed his resilience in Andhra Pradesh's Ranji Trophy quarterfinal match against Madhya Pradesh. Vihari, who was doing rounds of the social media on Wednesday for batting left-handed on Day 2, started breaking the internet by another gutsy show on Day 3 of the Ranji Trophy match on Thursday (February 2).
The star Andhra batter stunned everyone with newly innovated shot where he was seen brandishing his bat like a sword and smoked a boundary with a one-handed reverse sweep.
He truly exhibited the never-say-die attitude as he batted once again in Andhra's second innings against MP. Vihari came in to bat as the 11th player when Andhra Pradesh were wobbling at 76/9. The 29-year-old switched from batting right-handed to left-handed to avoid his left hand from getting exposed first up and scored 15 off 16 balls which included three boundaries as well.
The most amazing thing about his batting was the two consecutive boundaries he hit against spinner Saransh Jain. Saransh returned in his next over and cleaned up Hanuma Vihari as Andhra were bundled out for a paltry 93, setting Madhya Pradesh a target of 285. In reply, MP openers went off to a terrific start. Himanshu Mantri and Yash Dubey stitched a 93-run unbeaten stand for the first wicket before walking off the field at stumps.
Here's the video…
Earlier, despite being in discomfort, Vihari scored 27 off 57 deliveries in the first innings. He returned to bat after having gone off when he fractured his left forearm while trying to fend off an Avesh Khan bouncer.
Talking about the match, it was the bowlers' day out with 15 wickets going down on Day 3 at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore, with Madhya Pradesh fighting back after conceding the first innings lead. At the close of play, the hosts were 58/0 chasing 245 for victory and a spot in the semifinal.
Maharashtra's openers Himanshu Mantri and Yash Dubey were unbeaten at Stumps, having made a good start to the chase. Earlier in the day, Madhya Pradesh resumed at 144/4, and kept losing wickets at regular intervals as they slipped to 179/8. A handy partnership of 48 between Kumar Kartikeya and Avesh helped Madhya Pradesh reduce the deficit. Andhra, nevertheless, managed to take a 151-run lead, bowling out Madhya Pradesh for 228, with Prithvi Raj picking up a five-wicket haul. Andhra, however, failed to come good with the bat in their second innings as they lost wickets in a heap. Ashwin Hebbar's top score of 35, and the second best being Vihari's contribution, highlighted Andhra's struggles on Day 3.
