Ishant Sharma Looked More Of A Batsman Than Me: Hanuma Vihari

West Indies bowlers were looking to capitalise with the second new ball on day 2 of the Sabina Park Test. Jason Holder gave them a good start by dismissing Rishabh Pant for 27 but Hanuma Vihari found magnificent support from Ishant Sharma and the duo stitched a 112-run stand for the eighth wicket. Ishant scored his maiden fifty in his 126th Test innings while Vihari finally scored his maiden century. Speaking after the match, Vihari said the credit for his maiden ton should go to Ishant who batted with confidence. 

"Happy that I got a century and credit should go to Ishant. He looked more like a batsman today than me. The way he was going, we kept discussing what the bowler was doing and his experience really helped. My dad passed away when I was 12 so ever since, I have decided that when I play international cricket I want to dedicate my first hundred to him. When I was batting overnight on 42, I did not sleep really well as my thoughts were obviously running on how to get a big score today. I'm really happy that I could get my first hundred, especially on those conditions. It gives me a lot of satisfaction," Vihari said.

The right-hander had said that although India scored 416, the scoreboard did not reflect how well West Indies bowled. "I was batting at 84 during lunchtime, then it took me hard to get to the nineties. We have to give credit to the bowlers as well. Even though we scored 416 runs that do not show the way they bowled," Vihari said.

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Vihari and Ishant's partnership helped India cross 400 and Jasprit Bumrah used the pitch to good effect to take 6/16 in nine overs of brilliant fast bowling. The haul also included a hat-trick which made Bumrah the third Indian bowler after Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan to achieve the feat. Vihari heaped praise on Bumrah's splendid effort.

Also Read | Jasprit Bumrah will be indebted to Virat Kohli for the hat-trick: Harbhajan Singh

"We bowled brilliantly, to be honest. The way Bumrah and all the other bowlers bowled, we stuck to our guns. We don't know what the game plan is. So, the first thing will be to get them out as soon as possible. Then the management will decide whether we bat or bowl," Vihari said.

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HIGHLIGHTS

• Hanuma Vihari smashed his maiden Test century.
• Ishant Sharma also scored his first Test fifty.
• Ishant and Vihari shared a 112-run stand for the eighth wicket.