Patience is key while batting against Shannon Gabriel: Hanuma Vihari

Hanuma Vihari knows a thing or two about batting against the current West Indies pace battery. In his brief Test career spanning nine games so far, Hanuma Vihari averages a whopping 96.33 against the West Indies after two Tests with a century and two fifties to his name.

The Hyderabad batsman gave his unique insight into the bowling of West Indies paceman Shannon Gabriel. The pacer returned with impressive figures of 4/62 against England in the first Test in Southampton as international cricket resumed for the first time post the coronavirus pandemic.

West Indies managed to restrict hosts England to 204 with Shannon Gabriel combining with skipper Jason Holder, who claimed 6/42.

Hanuma Vihari has been sitting at home and watching the action unfold on TV.

“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 capitalised on that. I was happy I could do that,” Hanuma Vihari was quoted as saying by the Sportstar.

Shannon Gabriel picked up the first three England wickets – Rory Burns, Dominic Sibley and Joe Denly – and returned to end the innings with the wicket of James Anderson.

Shannon Gabriel has the pace to push the batsman back: Hanuma Vihari

The 32-year-old West Indies paceman has 133 wickets in his 45 Tests so far at an average of 30.63. Shannon Gabriel struggled to make much headway against the Indian batsmen though in the series back in 2019.

Hanuma Vihari notched up an impressive 111 at Kingston as Shannon Gabriel went wicketless. The Trinidadian seamer though picked up 3/71 and 1/63 in North Sound.

“That’s what he does. He comes in hard. He has the pace so he pushes the batsman on the back-foot and tries to pitch it up. You may have seen how he got Burns. He was trying to bowl the yorker. He will try to push you back and bowl a really full one. You have to wait, wait and wait,” Hanuma Vihari added.

The Delhi Capitals batsman also recalled how tough it was for him to make his Test debut against the likes of Stuart Broad and James Anderson in English conditions.

“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.

England are still trailing the West Indies by 99 runs after ending the third day’s play at 15/0. Shannon Gabriel, along with Kemar Roach, Alzarri Joseph and Jason Holder will be itching for a second bite at the cherry and aim for a stunning upset at Ageas Bowl.