Indian Test batsman Hanuma Vihari reckons that patience is key to success while facing West Indies fast bowler Shannon Gabriel. The lanky pacer took four wickets in the first innings of the ongoing Test match at Ageas Bowl, Southampton against England. Gabriel got the ball to nip back into the right-handers to get his dismissals.
Gabriel tries to attack the stumps and thus most of his dismissals come through the leg-before wicket and bowled. On the other hand, Hanuma Vihari has savored success while playing against the West Indies. The right-hander has scored 289 runs in two Test matches against the Windies at an impressive average of 96.33. The Andhra batsman scored one century and two fifties against the West Indies.
Hanuma Vihari has a great record against West Indies
Thus, he was able to handle Shannon Gabriel with confidence. Hanuma believes it is imperative to have a plan against the strongly build bowler. Vihari added that he waited for Gabriel to veer off the track and attacked the bad balls after respecting the good ones.
“He (Shannon Gabriel) is a wicket-taking bowler. He has pace and height. He can intimidate any batsman but I ensured that I left the balls which were not in my area. I tried to wait for the balls patiently. So I waited for him to make a mistake, and I capitalized on that. I was happy I could do that,” Hanuma Vihari was quoted as saying by the Sportstar.
“It is easy to get intimidated by the quality of bowlers but I was really confident of my skills when I was in England,” Hanuma Vihari said about his Test debut.
Vihari had scored a fine knock of 111 runs at Kingston whereas Shannon Gabriel had gone wicketless.
Hanuma Vihari has thus far played nine Test matches in which he has scored 552 runs at an average of 36.80. On the other side, Shannon Gabriel has scalped 133 wickets in 45 Test matches at an average of 30.63.
Meanwhile, England openers Dominic Sibley and Rory Burns have provided a good start on the fourth day as they have added 62 runs. England still trails by 52 runs.