Vihari ton sets Vidarbha stiff target

NAGPUR: When Hanuma Vihari made a surprise Test debut against England at the Oval last September, one interesting statistic was highlighted – he had the best first-class average among current batsman.

The 25-year-old has since produced some gutsy performances in Test cricket, and on Friday again showed his run-making ability that continues to keep the Andhra player atop that special first-class list.

His 114 – he was eighth out – helped Rest of India put a decent first-innings total, and after Ranji champions Vidarbha had taken a 95-run lead, it was Vihari’s unbeaten 180 (300b, 19x4, 4x6) and two crucial partnerships that put some pressure on the home team.

Vidarbha, who won last year’s Irani Cup tie, were set a tricky 280 for victory on a spin-friendly pitch after Rest skipper Ajinkya Rahane declared the second innings at 374/3. Vidarbha were 37/1 at stumps after skipper Fayaz Fazal was out for nought, needing 243 more to win.

Vihari’s Test selection was reward for his efforts in domestic first-class cricket and he showed that appetite for runs has not diminished despite the historic

Only two batsmen have scored more tons than Vihari in Irani Cup, Vengsarkar and Viswanath (4 each).

series win in Australia. Rest needed fighting efforts from its batsmen, and he led the way.

Vihari first joined Rahane -- he made up for his first-innings failure by scoring a patient 87 (232b, 6x4, 1x6) – as they raised 229 runs for the third wicket. Rest had resumed the day on 102/2 with Vihari on 40 and Rahane on 25.

Rahane had struggled for fluency coming into the game and a century would have boosted his