Murali Vijay: Worked on leaving deliveries that I was playing at

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk,SportsCafe Editor

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Murali Vijay, who scored a century against Bangladesh in the ongoing Test, said his cautious approach to deliveries pitched on or outside off-stump, has helped him stay on top of the bowling. The opener scored 108 and skipper Virat Kohli 111 not out as India closed the opening day at 356/3.

"See, I was playing at the balls that I should be leaving actually. I went back home and gave it a thought, came back to Bombay (England Test in Mumbai) and played in the way I would play rather than playing for the situation which was putting too much pressure on me. These are small things, I rectified in the Bombay Test," Vijay told reporters in Hyderabad.

"As I am playing one format of the game at the moment, I have got a decent idea about it and hang of it. I want to give as many consistent starts as possible for India. I am ready for my opportunity in other two formats as well.”

Vijay sustained a shoulder injury during the final Test against England in Chennai in December and returned to competitive cricket by playing the South Zone inter-state Twenty20 tournament.

“I was feeling good about my game coming into the series,” he said. “Hopefully, I can carry that forward. To be honest, I just saw the new ball for four-five overs, read the wicket, and then I thought I can kind of play my shots and it came out my way today.”

Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara are the only two Test specialists in the current Indian team, and the pair forged their fifth 100-plus stand of the season.

“We really enjoy each other’s company out there in the middle and he has a solid game,” said Vijay. “He makes things easy for me and we both share a good rapport and that makes it easy inside.”

Vijay also lauded Kohli's stunning century.

"It’s always a great sight to see Virat play, the way he is playing at the moment. He has taken his game to a different level. End of the day, you can see we are 354 (356) and I thought 340 would be great. The 10-20 runs extra just happened because of him. The way he was striking the ball was fantastic.

“Watching Virat the way he played, got his 100 
 after the new ball was taken it was faster, I guess. And I think he has a game plan set. It’s working out well for him."

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