Top 7 Cricketers of the Week: 7th November – 13th November

#5 Murali Vijay

Murali Vijay starred with yet another century

Much of the credit for India drawing the first Test against England at Rajkot must go to Murali Vijay. Rightly nicknamed, The Monk, Vijay survived some testing overs at the end of the second day adding an unbeaten 63 for the opening wicket with Gautam Gambhir after England posted a colossal 537 runs. Vijay scored 126, having played 301 balls, adding a calm and composed, 209 runs for the second wicket with Cheteshwar Pujara, ensuring India got close to the England total.

In the second innings, Vijay scored 31 and more importantly played out 71 balls as India had to survive 53 overs and lost their other opener Gambhir in just the second over.

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#5 Cheteshwar Pujara

Cheteshwar Pujara made the most of home conditions

Pujara seems to be enjoying a new wind in his Test career, scoring back-to-back centuries after having posted a ton in his previous innings against New Zealand. Having survived an LBW decision thanks to DRS, Pujara scored a brisk 124 in just 206 balls adding 209 with Vijay on a Day 3 pitch.

He had to take three pacy deliveries on the helmet from Chris Woakes but apart from that, surprisingly, Pujara looked not only solid but also fluent scoring 17 fours. Pujara survived an early morning burst on Day 3 and a few overs from the second new ball, eventually getting out in the 92^nd over – the perfect No.3!