In an act of bravery, Vihari bats left-handed

INDORE: In an act of bravery, Andhra Pradesh skipper Hanuma Vihari batted left-handed and defied Avesh Khan to add 26 runs for the 10th wicket, helping his team reach 379 against Madhya Pradesh on the second day of the Ranji Trophy quarter-final here on Wednesday.

Andhra then reduced the defending champion to 144 for four at stumps to seize control of the match. Resuming at the overnight score of 262 for two, things did not go Andhra’s way as the MP bowlers hit back after toiling during the massive 251-run stand between Ricky Bhui (149) and Karan Shinde (110).

Batting left-handed after injuring his left hand wrist, Vihari managed to hit a couple of boundaries. He batted with only one hand and was dismissed LBW for 27. He had retired hurt on Tuesday on 16 after being hit by a bouncer from Avesh. Vihari’s brave effort was reminiscent of his heroics in the Sydney Test against Australia in January 2021.

BRIEF SCORES: Quarter-finals: Andhra Pradesh 379 in 127.1 overs (R Bhui 149, K Shinde 110, A Agarwal 4/72) vs Madhya Pradesh 144/4 in 41 overs (S Sharma 51); Saurashtra 303 vs Punjab 327/5 in 91 overs (N Dhir 131, Prabhsimran 126); Uttarakhand 116 vs Karnataka 474/5 in 116 overs (S Gopal 103*, M Agarwal 83, R Samarth 82, D Padikkal 69, N Jose 62, M Mishra 3/98); Jharkhand 173 (K Siraj 89*, Akash Deep 4/46, M Kumar 3/61) vs Bengal 238/5 in 81 overs (A Easwaran 77, S Gharami 68)