A pep talk from Rahul Dravid made Hanuma Vihari tame his nerves at The Oval & hit 50

His selection ahead of Karun Nair at The Oval stirred a debate and criticism towards the team management but 24-year-old Hanuma Vihari put all controversy to rest by scoring a fifty in his debut Test against England on September 9. According to Vihari, it was former Indian great Rahul Dravid who helped him ease his nerves ahead of his crucial innings that saw India remaining alive in the game.

Vihari registered a crucial 77-run partnership with Ravindra Jadeja for the seventh wicket to help India get closer to the England total in the first innings. Averaging almost 60 in first-class cricket and with a big hundred under his belt in his previous game against South Africa ‘A’, Vihari was never short of the talent to succeed on the big stage. It was only that he had to keep his nerves calm and he was helped by the India A coach Dravid.

“Go there and enjoy,” Dravid told Vihari

“I called him (Dravid) the day before and told him I was making my debut. He spoke to me for a couple of minutes and it eased my nerves a little bit, because it’s coming from a legend and you know that you belong here. He just told me: “You have the skill set, you have the mind-set and the temperament, just go out there and enjoy yourself.’ I’d like to give him a lot of credit because my journey with India-A has been important in my coming here,” Vihari said after the end of the third day’s play.

Going out to bat later on Day 2 at 103 for 4, the 24-year-old looked anxious but after he had a short telephonic talk with Dravid, he looked a far better batsman. He played the seamers more confidently and went on to hit a half-century in 104 balls. He is the 26th Indian overall to score a fifty on Test debut and the fourth Indian to score a fifty or more on debut in England. Dravid is one of the other three batsmen as he scored 95 on debut at Lord’s in the 1996 series that India played in England.

“Initially, I felt the pressure. I was nervous. Nerves make you do unusual things. If I settle down nicely, I don’t think any ball will cause me trouble. On Saturday, I had problems facing the incoming delivery but Virat gave me some cues so that I could play it comfortably. But once I settled down, the wicket was good to bat on,” Vihari, who idolises VVS Laxman, said.

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