On 16 off 37 balls when he went off, Vihari had to go for scans, where X-rays revealed a fracture. ESPNcricinfo has learnt that at the time, Vihari was told he would likely have to be out of action for five to six weeks. The team management decided he would bat only if required.
It was at this point that Vihari returned and took guard as a left-hand batter to protect his fractured wrist. With his left hand fully taped, he tapped deliveries back almost entirely using one hand, the right.
By lunch, Vihari had put on 26 runs in nearly ten overs with No. 9 Lalith Mohan, who did the bulk of the scoring in the partnership, as Andhra progressed to 379 for 9.
Vihari, who even managed to play out an entire Avesh over, had moved to 27 by the interval. He hit two more boundaries to his overnight tally of three, including a steer off Avesh to the point boundary. He even swept left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya with the spin for his second boundary of the morning.
Towards the end of the session, Mohan kept much of the strike to ensure Vihari wouldn’t do further damage to his wrist.
Vihari has had a mixed season, scoring 475 runs so far in 13 innings at an average of 39.58 with two half-centuries.
