"Rahane needed to tell me I'd crossed 99" - Murali Vijay

Murali Vijay looks up to the skies as he reaches his century on Day 1

Despite M S Dhoni’s confidence in choosing to bat first on the green Gabba pitch on Day 1 of the Brisbane Test, India needed its top order to face up to the four-pronged Australian pace attack – an unenviable task for any batting order, more so for a team with an unflattering record of collapses on pitches that offer pace and bounce.

India’s hero of the day, Murali Vijay, toiled for 332 minutes and faced 213 balls with 22 fours. He put on 124 with Ajinkya Rahane for the fourth wicket to help India to 311 for four at stumps. To appreciate the magnitude of Vijay’s contribution to the Indian cause, it needs to be kept in mind that no visiting team has gone past the 300-run mark at the Gabba on Day 1 since the West Indies in 1960. Moreover, no opener from any visiting side has ever scored a century at the Gabba in the first innings.

Vijay might have shown a bit of poor judgement in rushing out to Nathan Lyon in the last session of Day 1, when all it was required was to wait for the inevitable loose delivery from the tiring Australian unit. However, by then, he had already laid the bedrock for the most heroic Day 1 effort by any visiting team at the Gabba.

An ‘absorbing’ innings

Vijay said that he was so absorbed in his task that he did not realise he had reached a century until he was told by his batting partner. It was a flowing cover drive for four off Shane Watson which brought up his fourth Test hundred against Australia. However, it was not until Rahane told him and pointed to the scoreboard that it dawned on Vijay.

“Actually, I was not aware of how much I was batting on. I was looking at the team score and batting and Ajinkya was the non-striker, he told me that I got a hundred. So that's when I realised. It's good in a way. I didn't want to see the score because I got out for 99 in the last game. It made up for it."

Saying that an innings against Australia is all the more special, Vijay said, "I’m satisfied. I don't know how much, but I'm really happy. Making runs against the best is always going to help you in the confidence level and as a person going forward."

"We're in a good position, but the (Thursday) morning session is going to be very important for us," he added.