Mitchell Starc and Steven Smith believe that Virat Kohli is an Australian in the way he thinks, acts, and has the desire to perform in big games.
The Indian cricket coach has backed senior India pros Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara, after the duo struck a half-century each in the 2nd innings of the 2nd Test at the Wanderers.
Hanuma Vihari remained unbeaten on 86, while Suresh Raina made a strokeful 52 as India Blue reached 216 for three in reply to India Red's 383 all out on the second day of the Duleep Trohpy match, in Kanpur on Thursday.
Jaiswal gears up for SA Test with big hundred but Mumbai get only 1 point
Rishabh Pant and Hanuma Vihari put themselves in the reckoning for next week's first Test with contrasting hundreds as India thoroughly dominated Australia A on Day 2 of the day-night practice match, in Sydney, on Saturday.
India got off to a horror start in their practice match as youngsters Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal and Shubman Gill failed with the bat on Day 1 of the three-day game against New Zealand XI at Seddon Park, in Hamilton, on Friday. All the batsmen were dismissed by fast bowler Scott Kuggeleijn as India were reduced to 5/3 in the seventh over.
Washington and pacer Avesh Khan, who are both set to fly back home due to injury, played for the County XI in India's only warm up game ahead of the first Test beginning August 4.
Opener Musheer Khan (112) and veteran Siddhesh Lad (100 not out) hit centuries to rally Mumbai to 289/5 on Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group D match against Himachal Pradesh.
Vihari, who had scored a hundred in the last Irani Cup, once again held the innings together, scoring 114 off 211 balls with 11 fours and two sixes. It was in complete contrast to Agarwal's innings which was laced with 10 fours and three sixes.
India's injury woes in the Test series against Australia compounded on Monday after Hanuma Vihari -- the hero of their drawn game in Sydney -- was ruled out of the fourth and final match with a hamstring tear that could keep him out of action for a considerable time.
The art of leaving the ball and negotiating the short ball are the two aspects of his game, Hanuma Vihari is working on ahead of India's tour of Australia.
'When the team is struggling, he is the one who wants to step up and play that important innings.'
Shubman Gill's run-a-ball 83 was the only high point for India 'A' as New Zealand 'A' grabbed the opening day honours in their first unofficial Test, in Christchurch, on Thursday. The Indians were all out for 216 in their first innings before the hosts responded strongly as they reached 105 for two at the close of play.
The IPL franchises may have turned him down but Team India's Test specialist Hanuma Vihari is all set to prepare for the six-match Test series in England later this year by competing for English county side Warwickshire.
The BCCI is trying to work out the logistics to smoothly transfer the squad from one bio-bubble in the UAE to another in Australia where they might have to go for a two-week quarantine unless the rules are relaxed.
'I have not played a Test at home, looking forward to it. It's great to play in front of the home crowd back in India'
Hanuma Vihari's primary skill is batting but he is now trying to sharpen his off-breaks in order to fit in as the 'fifth bowler' in India's Test set-up.
Images from Day 2 of the second Test between West Indies and India, in Jamaica, on Saturday.
Mumbai youngster Prithvi Shaw and Andhra batsman Hanuma Vihari were the two surprise inclusion in India's squad for the last two Tests of the ongoing five-match series against England.
Akshath Reddy and Hanuma Vihari helped Hyderabad close in on Mumbai's first-innings total, but were unfortunate to miss what would have been well-deserved double centuries, in their Ranji Trophy match in Hyderabad on Monday. Opener Reddy scored 196 after spending 576 minutes in the middle, while Vihari scored 191 during his 496-minute knock, as Hyderabad finished the third day on 423 for 3 in reply to Mumbai's 443 at the Rajiv Gandhi stadium.
Kuldeep Yadav, among all the players in this team, has more experience of playing with pink ball and the kind of revolution he produces, he could make it difficult for batsmen to spot the black seam of the pink kookaburra under lights.
Cheteshwar Pujara was the cornerstone of the Indian batting line-up in Tests, featuring in 103 matches in which he scored 7,195 runs at an average of 43.60, with 19 centuries.
Vihari has a Grade 2 tear which has not only ruled him out of the final game, but also puts him in doubt for the England games
Hanuma Vihari dedicated his maiden Test century to his late father, keeping a promise he made to himself right after he lost one of his favourites 13 years ago. Apart from remembering his father, Vihari thanked pacer Ishant Sharma for batting, at times, better than the recognised batsman at the other end during their partnership in the second Test against the West Indies.
Skipper Virat Kohli is impressed with Hanuma Vihari's temperament, as the youngster's self-belief spreads a sense of calm in the dressing room when he is out there in the middle. Vihari was undoubtedly India's find of the West Indies Test series. He emerged the top run-getter with 289 runs that included a century and two half-centuries.
Fit again Ravindra Jadeja and Hanuma Vihari made their way back into the Indian Test squad, while all-rounder Hardik Pandya was left out for next month's IIC World Test Championship final against New Zealand and the five-match series against England.
Hanuma Vihari wanted to utilise the summer months playing county cricket in England but the COVID-19 pandemic has put paid to the India all-rounder's plans for the time being.
Vihari, who had kept his base price at Rs 50 lakh, found himself in the unsold bracket.
Middle-order batter Hanuma Vihari on Tuesday accepted that making a return to the Indian team is tough, and getting dropped at times could affect a player's mindset.
Hanuma Vihari looks set to bat at number six in the first Day/Night Test at Adelaide.
It is interesting to note that both Mayank and Vihari have not lived up to the expectation
'If you see the way Vihari has bowled he has looked like picking up a wicket whenever he comes to bowl. He's pitching the ball in the right areas so we are looking at him as a solid bowling option right now'
Ajinkya Rahane, who has not scored a hundred in more than two years, got back among the runs with a patient innings of 54.
A lot of Indian cricketers have been doing their bit, ranging from making financial donations to helping people procure essential medical care.
As Ravichandran Ashwin achieved the milestone 100th Test in Mohali, everyone had their lists of his best bowling feats. But Ashwin's finest cricketing moment was probably when he and Hanuma Vihari battled inhuman injury to draw the Sydney Test against Australia after India were bowled out for 36 in the first Test at Adelaide.
For Shastri, India's recent successes in Test cricket have often been defined by the stubbornness and resilience of the tail-enders.
'We only felt that it has never happened before, I don't think it will ever happen again. It was a freak inning'
Hanuma Vihari said he won't mind taking up the opener's role if the team management asks after India's inexperienced opening options were technically exposed by a second-string New Zealand XI attack on the opening day of the warm-up game in Hamilton, on Friday. Coming in at No. 6, Vihari scored a hundred but Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill were dismissed early, undone by the extra bounce and seam movement during the match against New Zealand XI.
Hanuma Vihari's role as an opener is a stop-gap one and he will be given enough opportunities in his preferred middle-order spot should he fail at the top, assured chairman of selectors MSK Prasad.
Rajneesh Gupta presents the interesting numbers from the second day of Kingston Test between West Indies and India
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