India needed a hero on a sweltering day at Brisbane four years ago. The national team had suffered humiliating defeats in England and Australia over the years and their overseas record left much to be desired. Lack of application, iffy technique and an unstable temperament had resulted in the poor form of their reputed batsmen but after a close-fought first Test match at Adelaide, the onus was on the men with the willow to ensure that the series picked up pace.
Enter Murali Vijay, one of India’s most reliable batsmen overseas who navigated through the pace and the spin of the Aussie bowlers with ease to end with 144, incidentally the same score that Sourav Ganguly had made at the same venue in the summer of 2003. The opener impressed with his off-stump awareness as he waited for the good ball to attack. His knock, that did not consist of a single six was replete with a good judgement as he refrained from driving unnecessarily, adapting to the bowling variations with ease.
Consistent Display With The Bat
But this kind of a performance was not surprising from the Tamil Nadu player, who through consistent displays had emerged as India’s chief wrecker with the bat, especially while touring. His average in England stood at an impressive 40.20, which shot up to 67 Down Under, and there seemed no lack in the way Vijay handled the bowlers especially when the ball had some pace and swing in it.
But as is the norm, the lows quickly followed and the monk-like trance soon transformed into a dazed mindset, where his biggest strength - his strong awareness of his off-stump - turned into a major flaw that is yet to be sorted out. The ton in Australia is Vijay’s only hundred against a competitive side away from home since then and though he did score 150 against Bangladesh in 2015, it can hardly be considered as his best innings. Since the tour to Australia ended in 2014-15, Vijay has participated in 9 matches, averaging 26.21 with just one fifty against Sri Lanka to go alongside his 150 against the Bangla unit away from home.
So where exactly has it gone wrong for him?
Vijay in South Africa
During the tour to South Africa earlier this year, Vijay was struggling massively against the balls that pitched in at his off-stump. The player who was renowned for leaving and playing the patient game had shown a deep understanding of his own game in his innings of 146 at Trent Bridge four years ago. Though he had started off well, getting to his half-century in just 68 balls, once the bowlers pushed him to drive on the off-stump, Vijay lowered his attacking instinct and got to his next fifty in 146 balls. His conscious effort to shy away from loose drives was in stark contrast to Virat Kohli’s repeated failures against them.
In South Africa, he was out caught driving in the first innings at Cape Town - the first time that Vijay was dismissed driving since 2013. Throughout the series, his awkward shuffles across the stumps and his lack of footwork resulted in a number of close calls and an average of just 17 in 6 innings hardly portrayed his skills. He was uncomfortable even against the short balls, finding it tough to get going against the bouncers - something that had hardly hindered him in the overseas tours before.
The Debacle in England
In the recent series against England, Vijay who has scored just 26 runs, including a pair at Lord’s has looked uncomfortable on his front foot, and looked clueless against a ball that pitched towards the middle-stump in the first innings at Edgbaston. The second innings dismissal was even more surprising from a player who had once been able to read the angles of the ball with ease. As Stuart Broad bowled a delivery around the off-stump that angled into the batsman, Vijay, looking clueless took a big stride forward before letting it go only be be given out LBW.
Though James Anderson bowled a peach in the first innings at Lord’s, it was Vijay’s irresponsible batting that amounted to his dismissal. The bowler lured the opener to play across the line and as Vijay tried to flick the ball that had pitched in on the middle stump across mid-wicket, the loopholes were evident. If he had played with a straighter bat, he could have been saved, but by closing the face of the bat, the 34-year-old was crippled. The down flow of the bat was not perfect either once he was out for a duck in the fourth innings at Lord’s, once again late to get forward against a ball that jagged in sharply, the woes had converted into a never-ending struggle.
An average of 6.50 in four innings by a batsman who is a permanent fixture in the team is hardly acceptable. As Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul constantly play musical chairs, Vijay hangs on to the opener’s slot without any threat. Maybe it is his past records or his once-indomitable technique. Maybe it is the hesitance to give either Mayank Agarwal or Prithvi Shaw - players who were highly successful in the India A tour of England just last month - a go or it is a desperate attempt at pushing the Chennai Super Kings player to translate his potential once more on the big stage. But what is clear is that the India hopelessly need a hero again, and it can be hoped that Vijay can turn around his extended poor form to go back to what he had once done best.
(Sarah Waris is a postgraduate in English Literature has taken on the tough task of limiting the mystic world of cricket to a few hundred words. She spends her hours gorging on food and blabbering nineteen to the dozen while awaiting the next Indian sporting triumph. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)
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(This piece has been republished from The Quint’s archives to mark Murali Vijay’s ouster from the Test squad. He has been dropped for the final two Tests against England. This article was originally published on 15 August 2018.)
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