Only if Australia would have known what were they stepping into after Pujara got dismissed, they would have thought twice about removing Pant and Pujara.
After ages, India saw themselves defending right until the deep to steal away a Test match from the sheer jaws of defeat. With half of India’s batting order gone and Jadeja injured, the task was cut out for a stopgap bowling all-rounder Ashwin whose last heroics with the bat was a hard one to find and Hanuma Vihari who has failed consistently in the last few Tests.
Vihari was batting with Pujara when the catastrophe happened. In the second ball of the 88th over, while sneaking a quick single, he pulled his hamstring and instantly pointed at the physio to bring out the hefty doses of wrapping so that he can be well-protected. Unfortunately, the more time he spent at the crease, life became harder for him.
Despite going through the hellish pain, he chose to hang in there and keep on supporting Ashwin to see this Test match going down right till the wire and his resilience finally helped India to seize an emphatic draw at Sydney, defying the might of the Australian pace trifecta.
Things got a lot more difficult for the Indians when Pant and Pujara were removed. The wicket-keeper left the Australians reeling as he started counter-attacking the bowlers with some nasty hitting and kept the momentum going, thereby surging hopes of an impossible victory.
In fact, with Pant gone and Vihari slowly starting to get set, Pujara wanted to free his arms and in the process left his timbre exposed.
Twitter applauded the heroics of Vihari’s brazen knock that left Tim Paine and his boys in some grave pain.
Spare a thought for #HanumaVihari. Endured a wretched tour, worried about his immediate future, tweaks his hamstring, can’t run…. everything going wrong….then produces one of the finest rearguard actions in Indian cricket.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) January 11, 2021
Absolutely brilliant display of courage & patience from @Hanumavihari & @ashwinravi99 ?#Cricket #AUSvsIND #RaviAshwin #HanumaVihari #CricTracker pic.twitter.com/9D8Y4NJUbb
— CricTracker (@Cricketracker) January 11, 2021
100 up for #HanumaVihari. That’s for 100 balls that he has faced for India like a rock. Scored just 6 only because he is injured and can’t run at all. If he manages to save the game for India, this innings will go in history books.
— Yashwant Deshmukh ?? (@YRDeshmukh) January 11, 2021
Mothers are the real Superheroes. You can watch how HanumaVihari’s mother played a key role in his gritty performance today. ? #AUSvsIND #hanumavihari pic.twitter.com/ssbVyYYXSo
— VarChar (@varchar9) January 11, 2021
#hanumavihari The New Wall Of Indian Cricket!
Giving Tribute To The Legend #RahulDravid On His Birthday By Playing Such A Crucial And Unforgettable Knock..!
Despite Injury, He Came To Bat And Showed His Abilities..!
Simply A Legend ??#INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/GDvpstLZ4C— SChrödinger’s ? (@NaveedShafi15) January 11, 2021
Perfect tribute by @Hanumavihari on Rahul Dravid ‘ s b’day.
Innings of persistence and perseverance.#IndiavsAustralia #IndiavsAus #hanumavihari #INDvsAUSTest pic.twitter.com/P4uKfmIkSQ— Swetabh Dwivedi (@Swetabh_Dwivedi) January 11, 2021
Troll him, hate him or dislike him but this is one of the Greatest knock in the history of Test Cricket.
Half of the team is injured including himself(hamstring) and still he is wasting the balls. Unreal patience ?
Let’s #Draw this game#IndiavsAustralia #hanumavihari pic.twitter.com/HtFv6nj7Tc
— Vikas Singh Rathore (@vikasrathore143) January 11, 2021
Not Australia
Not India
But Test cricket won today— Giriraj sahu (@giriraj_sahu) January 11, 2021
Mood right now
23 balls to go #INDvAUS #INDvsAUSTest #IndiavsAustralia #Ashwin #hanumavihari #Pant pic.twitter.com/5i6TSvIGfV— GAURAV222999 (@gaurav222999) January 11, 2021
https://twitter.com/FarziAashiq/status/1348531217591726080?s=19
