Indian batsman Hanuma Vihari is adamant of his batting phisoosphy even after his ill-timed dismissal at Christchurch, Cricbuzz reports.
"It was a wrong time to get out obviously, just before tea. We had a good session. We scored 110 runs and lost only one wicket prior to that. I was batting positively but I played one shot too many. But that's the name of the game. Sometimes it goes your way and sometimes it doesn't. Today it didn't go my way but I will look to play positively again when I get another chance," said Vihari at the end of the opening day's play.
"It was a personal decision to play positively. As a team, we wanted to show more intent than we did in Wellington. The wicket was much better here and it was a personal decision to put the short ball away and put pressure on them. It didn't go our way on a couple of occasions. I am sure when we get the opportunity again, we can do that," he said.
"We knew New Zealand will come up that ploy sometime during the day and I was preparing for it. I was looking at it as a run-scoring opportunity. If you don't put short balls away and if you don't look for runs, you get stuck in the innings. Pujara was playing at one end and I wanted to take that lead and play positively because he is a player who will play a lot of time. So I didn't want to take time and put pressure on Pujara or on our innings because if you don't keep the scoreboard moving you will get stuck like we did in the last game. That's why I decided to play positively and take them on," he said.
"Jamies will get much more bounce than other bowlers and that extra bounce is a big factor on these kind of pitches - where it is a little more spongy than in Indian (conditions) or in other countries. With that extra bounce, we need to be sure whether to play front foot or back foot, and leave deliveries well as well.
With his height, the front foot balls become more dangerous than short of length or short balls. He bowled well and he got his first five-wicket haul, so deservingly he got those five wickets."
