Murali Vijay answers the critics with his bat.

The entire Indian team was in a jubilant mood, after a resounding win against the touring Australians at Chennai. The champagne would have flowed liberally in the dressing room, to celebrate the victory against a formidable opponent.  But in midst of that euphoric celebration, the Indian opener, Murali Vijay wouldn’t have been happy with his own performance in the 1st test.

The dejection was written large on Vijay’s face, when for the second time in the 1st test, he lost his wicket to Australia’s spearhead, James Pattinson. In his comeback test, Murali Vijay seemed to be a man full of nerves and jittery thoughts.

In a stark contrast to the first test, Murali Vijay at Hyderabad, dug deep to battle his inner demons, and make a well measured century. Vijay’s brisk gait to the crease and his his dogged determination, gave you an impression of a cricketer, who wanted to prove a point.

At Hyderabad, Vijay was duly rewarded for his hard-graft. At the crease, he personified calmness with a serene approach, while facing Australian bowlers. He was quick to judge the pitch and the bowlers, and modify his technique accordingly. As the track tended to stay low, he presented a dead straight bat, and left the ball well, to negate the threat of James Pattinson. It could be seen that essence of building an innings has been ingrained into his system, during his formative years. Only when the opposition bowlers got tired, did Vijay open his shoulders, and played expansive strokes on the up.

In the second session, Vijay played with a refreshingly positive attitude. He played some elegant shots, against both the quicks and the spinners.The exquisitely played well-timed flick shot through the mid-wicket region of Siddle was a sight to behold. It was Mark Waugh-esque in its style and elegance. Whenever both Doherty and Maxwell came onto bowl, he showed excellent footwork, and played with flair. It tells us, Vijay has a wide array of shots, and picks the length quickly.

We all have to remember this was Murali Vijay’s comeback test series. So, when he went into bat today, there would have been that extra added pressure on him. To make it worse for Vijay, his twin failures at Chennai meant that critics and fans were baying for his blood. In many ways, Vijay’s elegant display of batsmanship at Hyderabad was an eloquent riposte to his critics.

Back in 2008/09, when Vijay made his test debut against Australia at Nagpur, it seemed like he had a bright future ahead of him. But instead of establishing himself in the test side, what transpired was a stop-and-start career. He had to constantly live in the shadow of India’s formidable opening pair of Gambhir and Sehwag. Even when he got an opportunity to make a name for himself during the tour of West Indies in 2011, he flopped miserably.

Vijay didn’t have a good season in domestic cricket in 2012/13 either, as he averaged just 17.25 in Ranji Trophy. The tide soon changed for Vijay, as he made a gritty hundred in the Irani Cup against Mumbai. As the luck would have it, the selectors noticed that fine effort from Vijay, and he found himself in the Indian test side.

After playing for Rest of India against Rajasthan last year, Murali Vijay told, “It’s not all in my hands, I can just take it in my stride and move forward, be a better cricketer,” he said. “It was really a test for me, initially I was disappointed and I accepted the reality, you know, you have to work on your game, and this is a nice chance for you to analyse yourself and become a better cricketer.”

Hopefully, Vijay’s test hundred at Hyderabad will kick-start his second coming in test cricket. The Indian cricket team is going through a transitional phase. But there is hope for a die-hard Indian cricket fan, as the trio of Vijay, Pujara and Kohli can become the fulcrum of Indian batting line-up, in the near future.

Moises Henriques – An all-rounder of great promise

Moises Henriques was all of 18, when in the ING cup final against South Australia in 05/06, he played with grit and dogged determination, and helped New South Wales Blues to a nerve-wracking one wicket victory. A few years earlier, he was also the top performer for Australia, in the under 19 World Cup played in Sri Lanka. He was already a star in the making.

Fast forward to the just concluded 1st test at Chennai.  Before the test series, critics opined that Moises hadn’t done justice to his potential in first class cricket. But in the 1st test against India, on a treacherous track, Henriques in his debut test, stamped his class; by notching up half centuries in both the first and the second innings.

At Chennai, Henriques’s ability to play late was a revelation. It was a stark contrast to how the more experienced trio of Wade, Cowan and Hughes continued to grope for the ball. Henriques used his reach and showed exemplary footwork to smother the spin, and counter the Indian spinners in their own den. Unlike other Australian batsmen, he was refreshingly positive in his attitude. Above all, he showed an unflappable temperament in tough conditions for batting. His valiant battle in the second innings could have just lifted the drooping shoulders of Australian batsmen.

Henriques’s brisk gait to the crease, his impeccable shot selection and and an uncomplicated technique, gives you an impression of a cricketer, who belongs to the big stage. For the second test, the Australian think-tank should look at promoting the confident Henriques to the number six slot in the batting-order.

It is too early to judge Moises Henriques’s ability as a cricketer. But a rousing start to his international career augurs well for Australian cricket. There have been occasions, when Henriques was criticised for his inability to convert starts into big scores in domestic cricket. During the 2012/13 season though, he chalked up some impressive numbers, in the Sheffield Shield. He averaged 77 as a batsman, and took his wickets at the cost of just 18.

Henriques was largely ineffective as a bowler at Chennai. But the experience of bowling on a track that didn’t assist the seamers, would stand him in good stead for the future. The true test of a seamer is bowling seam-up in extreme hot and humid conditions, dusty wickets with barren outfields. Hopefully, in the near future, he will pass the litmus test of bowling on flat decks with flying colours.

In recent times, Henriques has looked up-to his Australian and New South Wales teammate, Watson for inspiration. Henriques on Shane Watson, “To have one of the greatest allrounders in the world at the moment in the dressing room is certainly a great advantage and to be able to bounce ideas off someone like Shane (is a bonus),” he said after the two-day game at Chennai’s Guru Nanak College Ground against India A.

In many ways, Henriques is still a work-in-progress. Unfortunately for Henriques, a few journalists have already labeled him as the next Steve Waugh. The history of the game is littered with numerous examples of promising cricketers being unfairly compared to legends of the game that prevented them from soaring to greater heights. Just allow Henriques to develop his game, and make a name for himself in the international arena. 

James Pattinson – The lion-hearted fast bowler

With legs and heart pumping, arms moving at the speed of knots, a firebrand fast bowler sends the stumps of the batsman cartwheeling. The next man about to take guard, shudders with fear, as the tearaway quick gets ready to unleash a barrage of bouncers. This fast bowling tribe can be very nasty indeed.

With scorching pace, disconcerting bounce and a wild glare, James Pattinson well and truly belongs to the nasty fast bowling tribe. The well built Pattinson is your archetypal fast bowler. His 90mph missiles can make a batsman feel like a cat on the hot tin roof. He also doesn’t mind snarling, growling and sledging at the batsman. Just like a true fast bowler, he believes; the batsman is an object that has to be removed from the crease.

On a typical hot and humid Saturday afternoon at Chennai, the raging bull from Down Under was breathing fire and brimstone, as he cut a swathe through India’s top-order. The Indian opener, Vijay didn’t have a clue, when a 90mph swinging thunderbolt sent his stumps for a walk in the park. The speed merchant from Down Under then, proceeded to send shock waves through India’s much-vaunted batting line-up; by taking the wickets of both Sehwag and Pujara.

In the test match at Chennai, James Pattinson also showed that he can think a good game. While bowling to the little master, Tendulkar, he was using the crease beautifully to take advantage of reverse swing. He bowled a few well disguised slower deliveries that almost outfoxed the captain fantastic, Dhoni. At the age of just 22, Pattinson has learnt the art of hiding the ball from a batsman’s view, while it is reversing. It tells us, here is a fast bowler, who has a great variety of ammunition to fire the batsman back to the pavilion. 

Barring Pattinson, other Australian bowlers have been largely ineffective in the first test. But that hasn’t deterred him from bowling lion-hearted spells. The hallmark of a good bowler is; when the going gets tough, he gets going. Even when Dhoni was on a rampage and nearing his double hundred, Pattinson was able to garner respect. He exerted every sinew and was duly rewarded with a 5-for in the 1st test.  

In his short and successful test career, Pattinson has ticked all the right boxes. He takes his wickets at a shade under 22. He has a big heart and bowls fast. The 5-for he took at Chennai shows that he can hold his own on unresponsive tracks. By wearing his thinking cap on, the wonder boy of Australian cricket can plot the downfall of a batsman too.

Former Australian swing bowler, Damien Fleming on Pattinson, “When you are a tall guy like Pattinson and you can bowl 150km/h outswingers, and you are pretty accurate, you are going to get a lot of Test wickets.”

The only major worry with Pattinson is that he seems to spend more time at a surgeon’s table than at the bowling crease. Back problems, foot injuries and side-strains have haunted him in the past. With a very busy season ahead, which includes back-to-back Ashes series, this precious gem called James Pattinson has to be managed well by cricket Australia.

For cricket aficionados, his pace and hostility transports us back to an era that was thought to be long gone. There can’t be a much better sight in cricket, than watching stumps-cartwheeling, bails flying and batsmen hopping and ducking to vicious bouncers.