×

Murali Vijay in India vs Australia Test series: Will he be an integral part?

It has been seen repeatedly when the Indian openers have failed to click on most occasions in Australia.

Related articles

Murali Vijay © Getty Images
As an opener, Murali Vijay was quite successful in England © Getty Images

With the Indian openers having a crucial task ahead as they begin a tough tour of Australia, they are sure to be watched out for their performance again. Murali Vijay will be surely be under the radars. Ayush Gupta takes a look at Vijay’s performance and his potential to perform Down Under.

India will be hoping to turn things around in respect of their poor performance in Test cricket Down Under. They will hope to pull out some retribution for their dismal show on the last tour where they were whitewashed 0-4. The Indian batsmen were hit hard by the fast bowlers; and Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman bowed out of international cricket.

It has been seen repeatedly when the Indian openers have failed to click on most occasions in Australia. They have failed to build up a solid opening partnership and have given away wickets in the early stages without putting enough runs on the board. With the current Test series against the Australia scheduled to get underway from December 4, openers like Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay and KL Rahul are in the frame (Ajinkya Rahane is perhaps another option).

However, all eyes will be on Vijay, who has been considered as the front-runner to open the batting order for Team India along with one of the others named above. Apart from being good in the domestic level, especially in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Vijay has also performed consistently in Tests. Although he has had his ups and downs, he has worked on his technique — something that had found success for him in South Africa against Dale Steyn and co. in 2013-14.

He was off to a composed start initially 2008 Border-Gavaskar series. However, he brought up his first fifty in his third game a year later against Sri Lanka. He continued to be a part of the Indian Test side through 2010, playing 12 Test matches and scoring 384 runs. Having started Test career on an impressive note, he continued his brilliance in the domestic circuit, especially in the IPL where he kept scored heavily and at astronomical strike rates. Nevertheless, after 2010, even that did not help him after he failed to perform against the West Indies in the Test series in 2011.

However, it was during 2012-13 Border-Gavaskar Trophy that he fashioned an impressive performance as he scored back-to-back 150s. Of his four Test hundreds three have come against Australia (which is a statistic that would certainly make MS Dhoni hopeful). Nonetheless, his form fell again after the series. It cannot be denied that Vijay has an excellent temperament and has honed his technique significantly. Allan Border complimented him: “His [Vijay’s] defensive shots are so assured. And he looks comfortable of both front and back foot. And when he attacks, he doesn’t go hard at the deliveries. I can see why this young man is playing.”

Vijay has also hit four centuries and six fifties with a strike rate of 44.93. He had impressed in South Africa, and had scored his maiden overseas hundred earlier this year on English soil. He will definitely be a certainty for the first Test at The Gabba.

(Ayush Gupta is a reporter at CricketCountry. A passionate supporter of Manchester United, he idolises Roger Federer)

trending this week