Jai Hanuma in Caribbean

CHENNAI: What was the highlight of India’s 2-0 Test series win in the West Indies? Jasprit Bumrah scything through the top-order, Hanuma Vihari rising to the occasion, Ajinkya Rahane rediscovering scoring touch are some, in a fairly comprehensive team performance barring the lack of big scores from the top three batsmen. Those who closely follow the journey of this team might have found the unchanged XI no less remarkable. Rarely during his reign, as Test captain did Virat Kohli not tinker with the combination in two Tests. True, the number of games in this series were too few to make changes.

That the Kohli-Ravi Shastri combine refrained from the thought is still noteworthy because of the past. A beneficiary of this idea to maintain continuity in proceedings was Hanuma. Not that he had done badly in the four Tests he had played before going to the Caribbean. A half-century on debut at The Oval and 42 in Sydney in his last innings before this series were decent efforts by a newcomer in unfamiliar conditions. But there was a big obstacle in his path.

Making the Test XI often during the period Kohli and Shastri have been in charge, Rohit Sharma was also a contender for the sixth batsman’s slot. After a stellar World Cup, it was difficult to see him out of the XI. The captain and chief coach had said in the past that they valued Rohit’s ability to score at a fast clip, which is in direct contrast to Hanuma’s watchful and conventional approach.

That Kohli and Shastri still opted for Hanuma ahead of Rohit suggests they were impressed with what they had seen. The middle-order batsman turning 26 next month had made a 66-ball eight as opener in Melbourne earlier this year. It was a statement of doggedness and determination to stick around in an unfamiliar role. The same think tank which once gave preference to fast scoring choosing patience instead is a notable shift.

After his Man of the Match performance in the final Test, Kohli hailed Hanuma as the ‘find of the series’. The batsman also acknowledged the team management’s role in helping him making the most of his talent and thanked Shastri for his technical inputs.

“He (Shastri) was talking about flexing my knees. I was a little upright in the first innings, so flexing my knees meant I could move on to both front and back foot,” Hanuma was quoted as saying on the BCCI website. “It worked well and a lot of credit should go to him,” he added.

“I relish batting under pressure because that is the challenge you have to accept. It brings the best out of me. I focus on what the situation is, and have a certain plan. I was fortunate to have good partnerships with Jinx (Rahane). I was in good space. I was looking forward to this series and I am happy it went well.”

Criticised for not showing faith in the conventional approach in their previous partnership as captain and coach, Kohli and Shastri have started the new innings sending out a different message.