Game is unpredictable: Murali Vijay

Murali Vijay en route to his 95 in the second Test against England at Lord’s as Matt Prior watches behind the stumps

Indian opening batsman Murali Vijay, who made a fine 95 in the second innings before edging one to the keeper off James Anderson’s bowling in the Lord’s Test against England, has said that the game might be in for a twist on the final day at Lord’s.

Vijay said: “The game is unpredictable. In the first Test match, we thought we could bundle them over, but Anderson produced a gem of a knock. For us, Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar played really well. Anything can happen tomorrow. Hopefully, the wicket stays the same and weather conditions help us.”

Going into day 5, England need 214 runs to win with 6 wickets in hand on a deteriorating pitch.

“The game is really well placed. We have got four wickets and they have got a 100(105/4 on day 4). With Jadeja spinning the ball well, if we can get a breakthrough in the morning, and if the fast bowlers can help.

“It is doing a lot for the spinners because of the foot marks over there. They have six left-handers, so it is going to be tough for them. We are all pumped up to do something special, from the first guy to the 15th guy. We are here to prove a point, we are here to win a game,” said the 30-year-old.

On his impressive form

Speaking on his own success, Vijay said: “More than technical, it is your application at the wicket. Every day, the wicket was different. My thinking was to not give my wicket away easily. If you get a good ball, you can’t do much. I just wanted to concentrate on what I can do the best.”

“The first hour of the first day was really tough in this Test match, because the wicket was a little damp and the ball was doing a lot. They were bowling in the off-stump channel. The wicket was doing a bit, and I thought that rather than play the drive, I need to wait for [them to bowl at] my strengths,” he added about the Lord’s track that posed a greater threat to the batsmen on the first day with the movement on offer.

What took him so long to succeed?

Vijay is the leading run-scorer of the series so far with 317 runs at an average of 79.25, covering up for the failures of Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan. On the improved showing in the series after failures in the previous tours, citing the stop-start career he has had so far, Vijay said: “The first ten matches, I played in three years. That says it all.”

“After that, I got my chance. I had waited for it, and kept myself patient. I believed I would get my turn. When I got it, I just wanted to grab it. At the international level, that is the thin line. You have overcome that and play your natural game. At times, if you get in that [insecure] mode, you will not be producing your best.”

Missing out on a century at Lord’s

“It is disappointing, but I will take it any day if we pull off a win tomorrow,” said the Tamil Nadu player who missed his 5th Test hundred by just 5 runs.

“I didn’t have a style today. I was just leaving the ball. The wicket was like that. I knew we had three or four attacking batsmen down the order.

“My plan was to just be there when the second new ball was taken. The lower order has been clicking for us. Jadeja played really well, carrying through his aggressive intent. That really helped us. And obviously Bhuvneshwar (Kumar) was hitting the ball well. They both put us in a very good position,” the 30-year-old batsman said at the end of day 4.