WTC Final: Hanuma Vihari highlights the BIGGEST challenge for India on England tour

Having last played in the Sydney Test before his county stint, Hanuma Vihari believes the Dukes unlike the Kookaburra ball (in Australia) has something to offer to the bowlers throughout the day.

Playing for Warwickshire in April, India middle-order batsman Hanuma Vihari didn’t really score too many runs. But the experience of playing against the Dukes ball in English conditions will definitely stand him in good stead during the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) Final against New Zealand and the five-match Test series against England. Having last played in the Sydney Test before his county stint, Vihari believes the Dukes unlike the Kookaburra ball (in Australia) has something to offer to the bowlers throughout the day. “The Kookaburra gets soft in Australia after a while. But the Dukes does something all day – off the wicket or in the air. There’s always something for the bowlers and that is the key challenge. When I came to England in April, it was quite cold. Even if you believe you are set, you can still be surprised by the movement. Like when I got out in my 30s against Essex, where I thought the wicket was quite good to bat on, but the odd ball was doing something because of the hard seam on the Dukes,” he told ESPNcricinfo. On his Test debut at The Oval in 2018, India skipper Virat Kohli had given him tips on facing the likes of Stuart Broad and James Anderson. Vihari says while they were invaluable at that point, his trigger movement has changed over time.