Murali Vijay : Fighting through fiery spells gives me great satisfaction

Being an opener, Murali Vijay has the additional challenge of coming in without much knowledge of the conditions and how the pitch will behave. However, the 32-year-old said that this was the kind of challenges he relishes. “Adjusting your footwork to the pitch at the start of an innings on day one as an opener can be hard. The best is to always look for the full ball. Your natural instincts will take care of the short delivery. I like the X-factor and so many uncertainties associated with

“Adjusting your footwork to the pitch at the start of an innings on day one as an opener can be hard. The best is to always look for the full ball. Your natural instincts will take care of the short delivery. I like the X-factor and so many uncertainties associated with opening. It keeps me going. One of the great satisfactions you get is after gritting your teeth and fighting your way through fiery spells, bat sessions. If you get out early while opening, you got to stay in the pavilion all day. I don’t like doing that,” Vijay told The Hindu in an interview.

Having recovered from finger and shoulder injuries that kept him out of the last Test match against England, Murali Vijay is ready for the one-off Test against Bangladesh and the following Test series against Australia.

Vijay went on to explain what aspect of the game he is working on and the 'forward press' that he was trying against England that didn't work for him. “It is my balance at the crease, the essence really. I did forward press against England in a couple of Tests and it did not work for me. I was getting into trouble when the ball bounced. Then I got back to my usual back and across movement,” he added.

“I have really worked on getting the swing of the bat straight.

“I have been a good backfoot player. Getting deep into your crease helps you but you cannot always do that when people bowl at 145 kmph. What you do then is to transfer your weight, effectively, whether to the frontfoot or the back," he explained the importance of transfer of weight.

Murali Vijay, one of the few Indian batsmen who has managed to make runs in many different conditions, also added, "Your stance is where it all begins. I do make subtle adjustments. For instance, when I bat in Australia where the bounce is more, I stand more upright. In India, where the ball doesn’t bounce as much, I am more crouched so that I get on top of the ball."