In this part of the world,the cover drive is just not on,says Murali Vijay

Vijay had a good enough to score to show for the time he spent in the middle this series.

Murali Vijay may have missed out on a century on Friday,but he finally had a good enough to score to show for the time he spent in the middle this series. He spoke about forcing himself from playing certain shots on the tour,on not making the century and the match situation at the end of the second days play.

On missing an overseas ton

Home or overseas,scoring runs makes me happy. I am happy with the way I batted the whole day yesterday. Of course,it is disappointing that I couldnt make a hundred. Scoring runs against the number one side in the world is self-assuring. With the kind of attack that they have,and this is not a flat pitch,it is a two-paced slow wicket. So it is difficult to score runs. I thought I batted well.

On preparation for SA

I have been watching videos before I came on this tour. The one thing that got me out was playing away from the body,and especially in this part of the world that shot,the cover drive,is not on. You may be 100 percent sure about it,but it is still not on. I just wanted to cut down on that and play straight as much as possible. That was my game plan.

On letting the edge slip

Yes we are disappointed about giving away the advantage. MS Dhoni and Ajinkya Rahane had a little stint in the middle. It was not easy for the new batsman coming in because Dale Steyn was reversing the ball well.

We should have taken the responsibility and gone through that session. Unfortunately,he bowled well and we got out. We did well enough to score 334,and hopefully we will pull it off

tomorrow.

On Fridays wicket

When play started,I felt there was some kind of dew on the pitch or moisture,it was a little damp. The ball was bouncing a little more than yesterday. And the way Steyn bowled today,the way he gave it all,that is why he is the number one bowler in the world.

On reverse swing

Pujara told me that Steyn was getting reverse swing. So we wanted to play a bit carefully but unfortunately we couldnt do it. When we bowled,yes,we gave away those 15-20 extra runs in the final session,but we were waiting for some reverse swing to happen. Let us see how tomorrow goes.

On Kallis retirement

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It was shocking news for our dressing room,because in the span of two months,two legends have retired referring to Sachin Tendulkar. Jacques has done a great job for his country and as a youngster I used to watch him a lot and learnt a few things from him in the IPL. Obviously,hes a great cricketer.