India batsman Hanuma Vihari believes not putting undue pressure on himself helped him during the two-test series in the West Indies, where he scored two fifties and a hundred as the visitors won the series 2-0.
“Skillset – I have adjusted a few things, but it’s more in the mindset. Now I play with a mindset where I don’t put undue pressure on myself – that I have to survive in the team and perform to survive,” Vihari told The Cricket Monthly.
“I go out there, read the situation and play according to it. I changed my mindset completely in the West Indies series. I went out there and didn’t care about my position.
“There’s a lot of competition to get into the Indian side and then survive there. However long you have, it’s not permanent. Just enjoy the journey – that’s the mindset I have now.”
Vihari also credits the third unofficial Test between India A and West Indies A prior to the Test series as one that helped turn his tour around, as he didn’t get many runs in the first two four-day games.
“Honestly, I was a little concerned. You want to be in a good frame of mind before a Test series. I didn’t get runs in the first two Tests [with the A team].
“Third game I was really determined to get runs and I focused to get a fifty and hundred. That set a good platform for me for the Test series. That game really turned my tour altogether.
“Suddenly I was hitting the ball well. So being on the A tour and getting runs is also important. I understood where I was going wrong and corrected that. I was in a really good frame of mind.”
