Published: Feb 06, 2013, 02:54 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 06, 2013, 02:54 PM (IST)
Murali Vijay was unbeaten on 116 at Tea © Getty Images
Mumbai: Feb 6, 2013
Murali Vijay, the 28-year-old batsman from Tamil Nadu, scored an unbeaten century for Rest of India and helped his team reach 231 for two at Tea on Day One of the Irani Trophy against India.
Vijay was unbeaten on 116 after facing 200 balls. His knock was laced with 17 fours and a six. He got to his ton with an upper-cut six and a four to the long-on fence as he knocked on the doors of the selectors.
Rest of India lost left-handed opener Shikhar Dhawan for 63 to Shardul Thakur (one for 39) after the Delhi batsman dragged a widish delivery onto his stumps. But this was after Dhawan shared a century stand with Vijay at the top of the order.
Earlier, Rest of India reached 130 for no loss at Lunch, with openers Dhawan and Vijay both scoring half-centuries.
Put in to bat by Mumbai skipper Abhishek Nayar on a pitch that promised to be lively, Dhawan and Vijay countered Mumbai’s seam attack well. At Lunch, Dhawan was batting on 58 off 95 balls, whereas Vijay had scored 67 not out from 118 balls.
Dhawal Kulkarni and Thakur opened the bowling for Mumbai in the absence of captain Ajit Agarkar, but failed to live up to the expectations of stand-in skipper Nayar.
Before the start of play, RoI were thwarted by skipper Virender Sehwag pulling out at the last minute due to a stomach bug. Harbhajan Singh is leading the side in his absence.
Brief Scores: Rest of India 231 for 2 (Murali Vijay 116*, Shikhar Dhawan 63) vs Mumbai
