CHENNAI: Baba Indrajith doesn't hesitate to speak his mind. Whether it's about the power-hitting he has worked on or the kind of space he has been in over the past year, or the opportunities that haven't come his way. Admittedly, he is in a zone where he knows what he is doing and is controlling all the controllables he can. He has scored three hundred and a fifty in the Ranji Trophy, and a fifty in the Duleep Trophy semifinal against North Zone.
And Thursday was no different as the 28-year-old hit one of his most fluent centuries (118 from 125 balls), helping South Zone (318/7) secure the first innings lead against West Zone in the final at the Sri Ramakrishna Arts and Science College Ground Coimbatore. Walking in at 40/2, Indrajith hardly put a foot wrong. He was getting onto the front foot, defending below his eye, and leaving those he had to. He survived a tough spell of Jaydev Unadkat who was coming wide of the crease from around the wicket while angling it in before taking it away from the right-hander. Once the Tamil Nadu batter got his eye in, there was no stopping him. He brought out the cover drives, the sweep shots, the late cuts, cruising towards a 112-ball century.
In fact, through this year, Indrajith has been going through a purple patch of sorts in red-ball cricket — the last seven scores read 118, 12, 65, 52, 100, 166 & 117. This is why, it came as a surprise, not just to others, but to the batter himself, when he wasn't picked for India A series against New Zealand A. But, he just wants to work on things he can control and make every opportunity count.
While Indrajith has always done well in first-class cricket, what has changed is the pace at which he has scored those runs. The TN batter attributes it to the change in mindset. He says that he doesn't curb his instincts as he used to in the past. "If there is a ball to be hit, I am not restricting myself," he said after the day's play. "So, I think on good wickets, and the outfield is good — and I run well between wickets — whenever I get an opportunity I try and get those runs. I'm still grinding and playing but on certain occasions, I would not have gone for those shots maybe. Previously, if I had played 125 balls, I would have been on 65 or 70," laughs Indrajith.
He believes that working on his white-ball game with coach RX Murali after being left out of TN's T20 side last year is now reflecting on his batting in red-ball cricket as well. Since then, he has had a good Vijay Hazare, got picked for Kolkata Knight Rides in the IPL, was prolific in the Ranji, and now, Duleep Trophy as well. "I can't pinpoint and say this is the reason. You don't expect yourself to go and get those runs. It can't happen easily. First, the initial plan is to play 20-30 balls. If I get my eye in, if I don't get out before that, I try and make it count," said Indrajith, adding that he was more disappointed on not converting the 118 into a big score.
This year, too, Indrajith is not a part of the TN squad for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He says that it only drives him to take it to the next level. And for inspiration, he looks up to his close friend Dinesh Karthik. "Whenever you get to a stage where you think of relaxing, you think of those times and you feel like you need to push to the next level. Seeing him (DK) from close quarters, how he has worked hard and he is getting his rewards for his hard work. So, it pushes you as well."