India in Australia 2014-15: Improved Murali Vijay turning into India's rock

By Chetan Narula in Brisbane

Virat Kohli knows well that there was every chance he could have won the first Test for India. But he also knows that his own dismissal wasn’t the turning point. India’s chance for a 1-0 series lead was blown when Murali Vijay was out lbw for 99.

Kohli and Vijay had given India a glimpse of victory. They were the only two batsmen who had looked comfortable against Lyon in the first innings. In the second, they countered pace with ease and batted with a plan against Lyon.

Vijay had played and missed a few times in the second innings but in general looked in control. But once he got close to his hundred, a touch of nerves appear to set in. On 99, Vijay went back to flick Lyon to the legside to bring up century. The ball turned sharply, missed the bat and Vijay was plumb lbw.

India’s middle and lower order then crumbled as a further seven wickets fell for 73 runs. “I told Vijay to bat the way he does,” Kohli said afterwards. “I told him to leave the calculation and stop looking at the target. We can talk about it later. It was a commendable effort from him especially seeing as the ball was turning square. He can be proud.”

A Test opener’s job-profile usually does not include closing out run-chases on a fifth day pitch. If by chance, you are Virender Sehwag or David Warner, perhaps you provide a mighty impetus that sets up a successful run chase others take over. Otherwise, seeing out the new ball, staying long enough at the crease to allow later batsmen to build and push on, is considered enough.

On Saturday, Vijay crossed that threshold by a clear mile. He provided a second focal point to those who were in awe of Kohli’s batting. Those who bore witness to Kohli’s magnificent 141 will never be able to talk about it without mentioning Vijay’s contribution. Yes, Vijay can be proud. At the same time, he must also be feeling a burning heart-ache.

This makes the third time he has fallen in the nineties in the last 12 months. It began with 97 in Durban, followed by 95 at Lord’s and now 99 in Adelaide

Overseas hundreds are hard to come by for Indian batsmen and ought to be savoured for a long time. Vijay should have had four ticks against his name, yet has only the solitary one – 146 at Nottingham.

These past twelve months have been tough on this young Indian batting line-up. Each of them had to evolve as they went along. A couple – Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma – have not done so. Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara have hit the odd bumps but became more mature batsmen. Ajinkya Rahane’s progress has been exceptional.

Vijay belongs to this group, but his journey has been unlike the others because he was the first to taste international Test cricket. Just that he was unable to button down a place in the side. Vijay, subbing for a suspended Gautam Gambhir, made his debut against Australia at Nagpur in 2008 and opened the innings with Virender Sehwag.

For the next couple years, he was always there or thereabouts, thanks to his penchant for big scores in domestic cricket, particularly his partnerships with Abhinav Mukund for Tamil Nadu.

The duo got their chance at a full Test series in the West Indies in 2011 and while Mukund went on to tour England thereafter, Vijay returned to the Ranji wilderness after managing just 72 runs from six innings.

His second big chance came at home against Australia in 2012-13 after India’s disastrous 0-8 run required a change of guard at the top. In that home series, he struck two 150-plus scores. The bigger test awaited him later in 2013 though, in South Africa, wherein he needed to overcome the pain of his previous overseas disaster.

The challenge for him was patience at the crease. This is where Duncan Fletcher has left his mark. If his tenure as Indian coach has been unremarkable, much like Greg Chappell’s, then Vijay is the uncelebrated Yuvraj Singh of this current side – the one player benefitting most from an underachieving coach.

On each of these past tours, there has been a different barrier to overcome and Vijay has learnt his lessons at every step. In South Africa, he left the ball with much ease, but forgot to rotate the strike enough. In New Zealand, he looked to get off the blocks quickly, just didn’t leave the ball quite as comfortably, scoring 48 runs in four innings.

The balance was finally achieved in England where he got along well for the first three Tests, stringing together 146, 52, 24, 95, 35 and 12. The team needed him to prolong that run of good form, but a five-Test series in tough conditions was too much of an ask. That is his current challenge, perhaps also the last step in a long learning curve.

“A five-Test series was a new experience for all of us and you learn various things from it,” Vijay said before the first Test in Australia. “One of my learning was to carry on the good form throughout so that can help the team and reduce pressure on the batsmen who aren’t scoring as freely. That is something valuable from the England tour.

“During this tour, both teams will be heavily dependent on the starts because when the ball gets old here, runs come in quickly. So if you want to put the opposition under pressure you need good starts after which you can help the batsmen coming later.”

With 53 and 99, he has started off well here in Australia. But well begun is only half the job done. With Dhawan’s form still in the doldrums, India will be hoping for Vijay to complete the task at hand this time around.