‘Kohli’s advice helped me negotiate Anderson’

India’s latest Test debutant, Hanuma Vihari has credited skipper Virat Kohli to have helped calm the initial nervous phase of the debut innings. Talking to Firstpost, Vihari said he could not picture the exact scenario in which he would have to go out to bat.

Taking on Anderson-Broad

When Vihari walked out to bat in for the first time in India whites at Kia Oval, India were reeling at 103 for four. The debutant was up against the lethal pair of James Anderson and Stuart Broad.

Commenting on the moment, Vihari said, “It was difficult in the initial period. Kohli helped me a bit from the other end. He gave me few cues which helped me initially. He told me that this is the hardest conditions you will get in international cricket. Nothing comes close to this. If you go through this spell by Anderson and Broad, it will be a good experience in your first Test innings. The words gave me a lot of confidence.”

Vihari, the bowler

Besides scoring a fifty on debut innings, Vihari chipped in with the ball to claim three England wickets in the second innings.

Going ahead, Vihari wants to focus more on his bowling. He said, “I want to improve as a bowler. If you have a batsman in top six who can bowl, it makes a huge difference for a team. I have started bowling a lot now. And will look to focus more and more on it. This can help the team as well as me in the long run.”

Dravid’s influence

Earlier, Vihari had credited India A coach Rahul Dravid for helping him become a better player. Vihari says his journey with India A was very important and not just performances but valuable inputs from the coach has made a great difference to his game.

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