JOHANNESBURG: Where is the old Monk? No. Not the one that makes you dizzy after a few rounds. But the one who was so solid in the middle; battling for hours, defending, leaving, ducking, playing that one aggressive shot every now and then to relieve pressure, and repeating the same again and again. It was this Monk of old who gave others around him a high. That is what made Murali Vijay one of the most reliable openers around in the last four years, irrespective of conditions.
There are not many who look as good as him while playing the cover-drive. It is a shot that he connects perfectly, but unfurls only for deliveries within his range. But, that is also the same shot he refrains from when the ball is new and swinging. You can tempt him all day but not succeed. During the 13 Tests India played in South Africa, New Zealand, England and Australia between 2013-15, Vijay was dismissed only once while driving.
As he emerged from those tours as a dependable batsman, his discipline and ability to let the ball go in the off-stump corridor stood out. He was the one who had seen off the new ball and its shine, allowing the middle-order to make runs against tiring bowling attacks. Ahead of this series, more than the likes of Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara, India looked to Vijay the most for those abilities. If he hung in and played to his character, half the job would be made easy for the middle-order.
But since arriving here, that discipline has faded. In five innings, Vijay has been snaffled twice in the cordon while driving away from the body or to a fuller delivery. More interestingly, he has altered his stance a bit in this tour, taking guard on middle and off-stump.
Unlike before, Vijay is now playing more shots against the new ball, which was not the case when he was playing a stretch of matches in home conditions.
According to The Cricket Prof, before this series, in the first 10 overs in South Africa, Australia, England and New Zealand, Vijay had left alone 33.3 per cent of the deliveries he had faced.
In this tour, that number has come down marginally: 31.4 per cent. But, the number of attacking shots he has played has gone up to 15.5 per cent in this series, as opposed to 10 per cent before.
That he had faced a chunk of deliveries during those tours without worrying too much about his own run is what made Vijay a selfless player. But, his uncharacteristic shots in South Africa have exposed the middle-order way too early, and the end result is there for everybody to see. Before Sri Lanka’s tour of India — where he played two Tests and scored two centuries, injuries hampered his time in the middle.
After Australia’s tour of India, Vijay had his wrist operated on, which ruled him out of the tour to Sri Lanka. Also, a back injury sidelined him from a few domestic fixtures for Tamil Nadu. Whatever the reason might be, the traits that have made Vijay so vital for this side haven’t been visible during this tour. Quite naturally, the middle-order hasn’t been as steady as it used to be.