IND vs SL 2022 | Hanuma Vihari giving India the same sense of calm that Cheteshwar Pujara gave, says Sunil Gavaskar

Hanuma Vihari batted at No. 3 for India for the first time on Day 1 of the first Test match between India and Sri Lanka, taking place at IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali. Vihari batted sensibly after Rohit Sharma returned to the pavilion in the 10th over, and brought up his fifty in 93 balls with the help of five fours.

Vihari got the opportunity to bat at No. 3 after India decided to drop Cheteshwar Pujara from the Sri Lanka Test series. He looked promising throughout his stay, scoring 58 off 127 balls, until Vishwa Fernando cleaned him up in the 47th over.

Speaking about Vihari's performance on host broadcaster Star Sports,  India’s cricketer-turned-commentator Sunil Gavaskar compared him with Pujara. Gavaskar opined Vihari gave the same sense of calmness to the dressing room like Pujara used to do during his prime days.

"He has given the same sense of calm to the Indian dressing room as Pujara used to. When Pujara was at the crease, you could breathe easy. You knew that one end would be tight," Gavaskar opined about Vihari on Star Sports.

"He has been very impressive. Look at the straightness of the bat. Most of the runs have come from the full face of the bat. Not once would the dressing room have felt any nervousness because of the way he has been batting. He looked so good.

"Look at the time he has to get into position. Very impressive. He was impressive in South Africa where the pitches were far more difficult. The way he framed the strike in the 2nd innings to bat with the tail and get valuable runs," Gavaskar added.

Vihari was in decent form ahead of the Sri Lanka Test series, scoring a fifty and a hundred against Chandigarh in Hyderabad's win in their ongoing Ranji Trophy fixture last week. He forged a 38-run stand with Mayank Agarwal, and then a 90-run stand with Virat Kohli, who was dismissed for 45 in his 100th Test match.