'I remember chanting Hanuman Chalisa at short-leg while Hayden was batting' - Aakash Chopra

During the first Test match between New Zealand and India at Basin Reserve in Wellington, India failed as a batting unit not once but twice in the match as they were bundled out inside 200 in both innings. While India lacked the killer instinct to go about their business, middle-order batsmen Hanuma Vihari and Ajinkya Rahane appeared to show some resistance on the pitch much to Kiwis’ annoyance.

In a bid to encourage those two players, a sports journalist took to his official Twitter handle to come up with a motivational tweet. He mentioned that it is time for Hanuma Vihari to become ‘Shri Hanuman’ for the Indian team while adding that the saviour Ajinkya Rahane should support his partner for a long time and play long innings.

“Time for Hanuma Vihari to become Shri Hanuman for team India literally…the saviour…rahane will need support and vihari has the ability to play big innings,” he tweeted.

Aakash Chopra reminisces his playing days

Meanwhile, former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has replied to this tweet by recalling his playing days when he used to turn to ‘Hanuman Ji’ so much so that the situation would turn in favour of India. At a time when India found it tough to get rid of the then Australia opener Matthew Hayden who was always a threat to the opposition on any given day, the former India opener Aakash Chopra chanted ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ while fielding at short-leg.

“Indian Politics or Indian Cricket. It doesn’t take much for us to turn to Hanuman Ji. I remember chanting Hanuman Chalisa while fielding at short-leg—Hayden was the batsman,” Aakash Chopra tweeted.

New Zealand got the better of India in the opening Test match by ten wickets and took the first lead in the two-match Test series. This was India’s first defeat in the ongoing ICC Test Championship. However, they still sit on top of the points table with as many as 360 points. India are likely to make some changes in the playing XI for the second Test which will be played at Christchurch on February 29, Saturday, in an attempt to level the series.