NEW DELHI, Sept 6: Cricketers often talk about how a sense of security helps their performance but not Hanuma Vihari, who believes in treating every Test match as �his last� because it helps him be on guard against complacency.
The 25-year-old Andhra batsman emerged as the top run-getter with 291 runs in India�s 2-0 series win over the West Indies and vindicated the team management�s decision to have him instead of the more stylish Rohit Sharma in the playing XI.
�Obviously I am very happy that I have done well but I went into this tour with a clean slate. I decided to take one Test match at a time. For me, every Test match is my last. It helps me get into a mindset that I have nothing to lose and play accordingly,� Vihari told PTI in an interview.
Recently, Virat Kohli complemented Vihari for his temperament, which the skipper feels infuses a sense of calm in the dressing room. He called Vihari the find of the West Indies tour.
�You can�t ask for anything more if the change room has faith in your abilities. That is certainly the best compliment I could have got and coming from the skipper himself, it can�t get better,� said Vihari, who now has 456 runs in six Tests, including a hundred and three fifties.
But the calm demeanour and steely resolve hasn�t come in a day or two but around seven years of toiling in the domestic arena.
�It has happened because of the years of hard work that I put in at the domestic level. Before playing for India, I had played nearly 60 first-class games.� � PTI
