'I try to play my best and put India in a good position.'
Murali Vijay on his rise as India's durable opener. Harish Kotian/Rediff.com listens in.
Opener Murali Vijay has been the cornerstone of India's batting for the last two years.
It was in South Africa, in December 2013, that the right-hander made a mark in Test cricket after a sedate start to his career.
In the first Test of the series, in Johannesburg, he scored just six and 39, but spent more than an hour in each innings against some quality fast bowling from Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel.
In the next Test, on a lively pitch, he came up with a gutsy 97. He failed in both games on the tour of New Zealand that followed, but bounced back strongly in England last July, scoring 146 and a fifty in the first Test in Nottingham, and 95 in the second Test at Lord's.
The Australia tour proved another watershed moment in Vijay's career. He was unlucky to miss out on a century in the first Test in Adelaide, dismissed LBW for 99 by off-spinner Nathan Lyon, before smashing 144 in the second in Brisbane.
Consecutive fifties in the next two Tests, in Melbourne and Sydney, followed by a 150 in the one-off Test in Bangladesh, underlined his credentials as one of the world's best openers.
On Monday, November 23, Vijay was back at the ground where it all started for him.
The Vidarbha Cricket Association stadium in Jamtha, Nagpur, is where the 31-year-old Chennai batsman made his debut seven years ago.
In November 2008 he was called up as a surprise replacement for Gautam Gambhir after the Delhi left-hander was banned for the fourth Test against Australia in Nagpur for elbowing Shane Watson during the third match in Delhi.
"This ground means a lot to me. It is a special feeling to come to this dressing room," said Vijay, recalling his debut Test.
Though he is not part of India's plans for limited-overs cricket, Vijay says he is happy contributing to the Test team.
"My aim is to keep improving every session and add value to the team. At the moment I am in the right space. For the past two years I have been travelling around and got good experience of how to organise yourself out in the middle. So a lot of learning happened and it is good as a team and as an individual."
Vijay was criticised for failures at the start of his career, but be believes it helped him improve.
"It is the way you take things," he reasoned. "People are always going to talk, whether you perform or not. It is a very individual-oriented thing. Actually, I like to be criticised because I can get good points out of it. Maybe I can work on it. At times it helps, so I don't give too much thought about criticism or praise. It should be balanced, I think."
Talking about his good showing in the ongoing series against South Africa, where he has scored 150 runs in three innings, he refused to reveal his batting strategy against the spinners.
"I try to play my best and put India in a good position. So far, so good. It has been coming out well for me. I am in a good state of mind and that is more important for me at the moment," is all he was willing to say.
The right-hander stressed that batting in partnerships and understanding his partner's form is important when playing in a Test.
"It is very important to know what your partner is up to. If he is not in touch a little bit, it is your responsibility to take as many balls as possible to make him comfortable."
"All of us in the top 5 (of the Indian team)... I have a good rapport with everyone because we have played the domestics together. Shikhar (Dhawan) is just a knock away from getting a big one."
"We are working as a pack, so, obviously, our goal is to the win the game and put the team in a better position when we go in to bat."
Vijay feels a packed house adds to the excitement.
"If you get into a game with this intensity, you don't really think about the crowd because already there are a lot of things to think about. But it will add value if a lot of people turn up at the ground and support us. It will be great fun!"
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