Ranji Trophy: Hanuma Vihari's one-handed 'reverse slap' leaves Dinesh Karthik spellbound

Indian Test cricketer Hanuma Vihari has become the talk of the town for the cricketing world, due to his heroic efforts during the Andhra Pradesh vs Madhya Pradesh Ranji Trophy 2022-23 quarterfinal. After suffering an injury in the first innings of the match, Vihari walked out to bat as a left-hander for Andhra and helped them reach a strong first innings total. The 29-year-old played as a left-handed batter in the third innings of the match, giving major sportsmanship goals to cricket fans.

As the entire cricketing world rallied in with remarks on Vihari's heroic gesture, veteran India cricketer Dinesh Karthik also revealed his thoughts. Karthik took to his official Twitter handle and reshared a video that featured a reverse sweep by Vihari. In the video, Vihari goes for a reverse sweep, which looks like a slap to the viewers as he is not a traditional left-handed batter.

It's a REVERSE SLAP not a reverse sweep 😂

No offence to the bowler, but that was quite a shot https://t.co/iNjDjxPJsL

— DK (@DineshKarthik) February 3, 2023

Here's how Hanuma Vihari suffered the injury

“It's a REVERSE SLAP not a reverse sweep. No offence to the bowler, but that was quite a shot,” Karthik’s tweet read. It is pertinent to mention that Vihari injured his arm on Day 1 while facing the brutal bouncers of Avesh Khan. He was batting on 16 runs when the ball struck his arm and he was rushed off to the hospital. 

While scans confirmed a fractured wrist, Vihari went against all odds to bat for his team. On Wednesday, Vihari took to his official Twitter handle and shared a clipping of his batting in the match. “Do it for the team. Do it for the bunch. Never give up!! Thank you everyone for your wishes. Means a lot,” he captioned the video.

Interestingly, he had faced a similar situation in the past while playing for India, when he had to battle injuries for the country’s sake. In the third Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy in the 2020-21 season, Vihari fought pain to partner Ravichandran Ashwin and secure a brilliant draw against Australia in Sydney. India went on to win the series by 2-1, playing with almost a C-side. Hanuma has played a total of 16 test matches for India so far in his career, scoring 839 runs so far at an average of 33.6.