The noise inside the Wankhede can be deafening. Partly because of the way the stands are structured and partly because of the quality of sport on offer in general.
The just-concluded fourth Test match between India and England witnessed similar moments over the weekend. Almost capacity crowds turned out to watch an exhilarating display of cricket between two quality sides.
Amid all the noise, the increasingly frequent ‘Kohli-Kohli’ chants, and excellent knocks under pressure from the Indian captain Virat Kohli as well as Jayant Yadav.
But an innings that was perhaps more crucial and won’t gather the same kind of accolades was Murali Vijay’s gritty 136 under extreme pressure.
Now the words ‘extreme pressure’ might seem slightly misplaced given that India have won the match. But, remember, on a pitch where turn was palpable earlier than all other venues in this series, England managed a healthy score of 400.
Moreover, Vijay came into bat off the back of a run of low scores, and despite a century in the first Test of this series – such are the dynamics of Indian cricket at the moment that there were already question marks on Vijay’s place in the side.
But Vijay didn’t let any of that affect him. Like a man at peace with himself, he started building his innings. Respecting the good deliveries, and not over-hitting the bad ones, this was a man batting with a sense of calm.
In the past, it seemed like the impenetrable technique of the Tamil Nadu batsman had suddenly developed a chink which the English bowlers used to their advantage.
In Mohali, in both the innings, Vijay seemed to struggle against the bounce that the English pacers were generating. He was playing at deliveries a Vijay in his prime would ideally see off right into the wicket-keeper’s gloves.
Such is sport, at times when you have some worries that you look back at and wonder, ‘how did I let that affect me?’ Vijay was passing through one such phase post that century in Rajkot.
Away from the limelight, Murali Vijay has played a top innings. Class batsmen reverse trends with big scores.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) December 10, 2016
In Mumbai, though, the short-ball problems seemed a thing of the past, quite literally. Vijay seemed to have found a panacea for all his difficulties with the short-ball.
Thus, with a colossal score from the opposition on the board, losing his opening partner early in the innings, and mounting pressure to perform, Vijay batted like a player aware of all of that, but unaffected by any of it.
Scoring all around the ground, a century at the top meant that it would be easier for the incoming batsmen to score without being bogged by the pressure of a massive total on the board.
Interestingly, Vijay’s previous four scores were 3, 20, 0, and 12. A closer look at his career gives an insight into the man. This wasn’t the first time that Vijay had conquered a slew of failures with an innings that sent out a strong message.
Before he scored that century in Rajkot, Vijay had 45 runs from his previous four innings. In Rajkot too, he batted in testing circumstances with an even bigger score on the board.
Such is the (Kohli) era that he is playing in, he will perhaps need to bat with one hand and score a double century to get noticed. For he is in the same batting line-up as a legend in the making (dare I say, a modern-day legend already). But, lest we forget, the most magnificent edifices have the strongest foundations.
Vijay is that foundation for this Indian batting line-up which bats deeper than many batting orders twice-over and at the moment is arguably the best in the world.
So the next time you revel in celebrations of a Kohli century or jump in amazement at a surprising knock from someone in the lower middle-order, say a small thank you to someone who more often than not sets the tone for such knocks. Someone who is invaluable to this side and a fighter clad in a Monk’s cloak.
