Indian cricket fans have not stopped lauding Hanuma Vihari and Ravichandran Ashwin’s marathon innings in the 3rd Test at Sydney Cricket Ground as they battled out a draw against Australia. The middle-order duo put on a 259-ball block-a-thon show, with both of them facing injuries, to put India in a safe space as the 4-match Test series hangs in balance at 1-1. Ashwin faced 128 balls for his unbeaten 39, while Vihari stuck around for 161-balls to score an invaluable 23.
While praises came in heaps, there was a misdirected comment from BJP MP Babul Supriyo. In a series of tweets, Union Minister Supriyo lashed out at the way Hanuma Vihari and R Ashwin played out the Indian innings. His verbal volleys did not mention the off-spinner but he certainly did single out the right-handed batsman.
Going as far as blaming Vihari for “murdering cricket”, the minister was not the one to mince his words. “Playing 109 balls to score 7! That is atrocious to say the least•Hanuma Bihari has not only killed any Chance for India to achieve a historic win but has also murdered Cricket.. not keeping win an option, even if remotely, is criminal. PS: I know that I know nothing abt cricket,” he tweeted during the final day of the match.
Playing 109 balls to score 7 !That is atrocious to say the least•Hanuma Bihari has not only killed any Chance for India to achieve a historic win but has also murdered Cricket.. not keeping win an option, even if remotely, is criminal.
PS: I know that I know nothing abt cricket
— Babul Supriyo (@SuPriyoBabul) January 11, 2021
Two days after his heroics, Hanuma Vihari has silently clapped back at the minister and gained some brownie points from twitter-verse. While being gentle in his approach, just like his batting style, the middle-order batsman pointed out the obvious mistake. “*Hanuma Vihari,” the Indian cricketer tweeted on Wednesday, pointing out the minor correction as his name was misspelled in Supriyo’s tweet.
*Hanuma Vihari
— Hanuma vihari (@Hanumavihari) January 13, 2021
As twitterati nodded and had a field day with Hanuma’s reply, his partner in crime from the other day – R Ashwin – was not far behind in going to the laugh out loud mode. He just laughed with comments “ROFLMAX”.
ROFLMAX!! ???????????? pic.twitter.com/gIHpngYg3E
— Ashwin ???????? (@ashwinravi99) January 13, 2021
India next plays Australia at The Gabba, Brisbane in the 4th and final Test of the series on 15th of January.
