Vihari's Unbeaten 180 Gives Rest of India Edge in Irani Trophy

Cricketnext Staff | Updated: February 15, 2019, 5:31 PM IST

There is something about Hanuma Vihari and Irani Cup. The Andhra lad scored a superb unbeaten 180 runs in the second innings to bring Rest of India back into the game on Day 4 against Vidarbha in Nagpur on Friday (February 15). This means that the 25-year-old now has three tons in three Irani Cup innings.

Having scored 114 in the first essay, Vihari, who hit 19 fours and four maximums during his stay in the middle, also became the first batsman since Shikhar Dhawan in 2011 to score hundreds in each innings of an Irani Cup match. Dhawan had achieved the feat against the then Ranji Trophy champions, Rajasthan.

Resuming the penultimate day on 102 for 2, Vihari and Ajinkya Rahane (87) added 229 runs for the third wicket before Shreyas Iyer blasted an unbeaten 52-ball 61, studded with five fours and four sixes, to help ROI accumulate some quick runs. ROI were 374 for 3 in 107 overs, with a lead of 279, when Rahane brought the curtains down to their second innings.

Chasing 280 runs for successive Irani title, Vidarbha were 37 for 1 in 16 overs, still needing 243 runs, with Sanjay Ramaswamy and Atharwa Taide unbeaten on 17 and 16 respectively.

Earlier, Vihari and Rahane started from where they left on Day 3. While Rahane was a bit more defensive in his approach, Vihari pounced on every bad delivery. The two batted for the entire first session and Vidarbha had to go for lunch without any success.

Vidarbha skipper Faiz Fazal tried out seven bowlers as both Vihari and Rahane dug their heels and didn't allow the spinners to dominate despite the track offering some turn. Vihari brought up his 16th first-class century with a boundary down the ground off Akshay Wakhare's bowling.

Rahane's 232-ball knock finally came to end when he was stumped while playing a big shot in the bowling of left-arm spinner Aditya Sarwate. While the two survived for 485 deliveries, the Rest of India needed some quick runs and that's when Shreyas Iyer walked in.

The Mumbai lad straightaway got into the act and took the attack to Vidarbha bowlers. Iyer commenced his innings with a couple of fours through the off side before smoking three maximums in quick time.

Vihari too started playing more aggressively once he went past the 150-run mark. The right-hander smashed Sarwate for a six to break the shackles before hitting Yash Thakur for a four and a six in the same over. ROI captain Rahane then decided it was enough and made the declaration after they managed 76 runs from seven overs in the final session.

Defending a modest total, Ankit Rajpoot knocked over Fazal in the very first over to give ROI a fantastic start. Sanjay and Taide then ensured that there were no hiccups till the stumps were drawn on the fourth day.

Brief scores: Vidarbha 425 & 37/1 (Sanjay Ramaswamy 17; Ankit Rajpoot 1-10) need 243 runs to win against Rest of India 330 and 374/3 decl (Hanuma Vihari 180*, Ajinkya Rahane 87, Shreyas Iyer 61*).