I was determined to bat long, says Murali Vijay

Hyderabad, March 3 (IANS) Indian opener Murali Vijay, who scored an unbeaten century against Australia in the second cricket Test here, said he just wanted to stay at the wicket as long as possible.

“It is always wonderful to get a good start for the team. A partnership like this doesn’t happen all the time. We really cherished it. Pujara played very well,” he told reporters after he, along with Cheteswar Pujara, added 294 runs for the second wicket on the second day’s play at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here Sunday.

Vijay was unbeaten on 129 while Pujara was not out on 162.

“The last Test hit me very hard because I gave away my wicket in the second innings. I just wanted to stay at the wicket as long as possible. So that was my intention. It doesn’t matter how the wicket is. I am happy that I gave a good start to the team,” said Vijay, who scored 10 and 6 in the Chennai Test.

The 28-year-old from Tamil Nadu admitted that there was pressure on him.

“I don’t take things from outside but I was thinking to come out of the mistakes I made in the first Test. I was just looking for this. I was preparing myself to fight out as long as possible. I wanted to stay and not give away my wicket.

“I don’t know about that but I am really happy at the moment for the performance,” he said when asked if his knock would help him stabilise his position in the team.

The Indian opener said it was a nice wicket to bat on if one hangs on. “It is not easy to score runs but it is getting better.

“The wicket is playing spin but it is not consistent. Some balls are coming and some balls are not. You’ve got to play. You can’t take any spinner easy on this wicket. We both batted well. We didn’t give enough chances,” he said when asked about the Australian spinners.

IANS 2013-03-03 18:18:03