The break between the Tests helped me come back better: Murali Vijay

Indian opener Murali Vijay was back to his very best in the Mumbai Test. He forged a vital partnership with Cheteshwar Pujara early in the innings. Later, his partnership with Virat Kohli put India in the driver’s seat. Vijay has been the one consistent openers for India over the last couple of years. His opening partners have struggled with form and have been in and out of the team. Vijay has ensured to come up with one big knock every now and then to be in the mix of things for the national side.

Now, when he was under the scanner for having underperformed in the last two Tests, he gave a solid answer to the critics in the Mumbai Test. Vijay scored a brilliant 136 off 282 balls to set the tone for India’s response to England’s mammoth 400. He hit 10 fours and 3 sixes in his innings before being dismissed by Adil Rashid. It was his second ton of the series. Earlier, in the first Test at Rajkot, he had scored a century as well.

Vijay called the knock as a special one. The reason behind this was his mild outing in the last two Tests. “It is special because I started off well in this series and the next couple of matches I couldn’t play the way I wanted to play. I was getting out too early, I just came out in much more clearer mindset for this game and I wanted to back my instincts and play,” quoted the Indian opener.

He further went on to say that the gap between the Mohali Test and Mumbai Test helped him think and get back as a better player. “Definitely, yes the break helped me and helped everybody else to go and rethink and come back better,” he added. India finished with a lead of 51 runs on day three. When asked if that was enough, Murali Vijay was quick to remark that any lead on a track like this is a good one.

“Yes, because any lead is gold on this wicket. During tea time we just thought of getting close to their target, but now the way (India captain) Virat (Kohli) and Jayant Yadav are batting, we are in a pretty good position,” remarked Vijay. He further showered praise on the pitch as well. He called it a good surface for Test cricket since it has something for everybody in it.

He quoted, “It’s a very true wicket for Test format because everybody had to work (on) their game plans and got to be very clear in the mindset to deliver. Everybody, especially bowlers, had really got to work (on) their plans out and it was a fantastic wicket to play this game.” He revealed that his plan was to attack the spinners. This would then disrupt their lines and lengths.

“Actually, my game plan is to attack the spinners, because I don’t want them to settle in one particular area where they find it comfortable. I just wanted to use my feet and use the depth of crease and play according to my game plan and it came out pretty well,” the Tamil Nadu opener pointed out.

Murali Vijay accredited the success of Indian batting to the understanding between the top four. He also had a word of praise for Virat Kohli, who has been in prime touch in the recent times. “One good thing is we all understand each other’s game pretty well, the top four at least, so we know what we know exactly in the middle. Whatever situation is in front of us, we just need to stick to our game plan and work in pairs,” he conceded.