India tour of Australia 2014: Mercury rises, so does Murali Vijay

He them promptly beat the right-hander with a quick length delivery that zoomed past the outside-edge. Then a pause, a deathly stare and a rapid bouncer, which to his credit Vijay ducked under competently, followed by a reminder of his instruction.

As it turned out, Vijay ended up taking his nemesis’ advice very seriously. He took it to heart. He watched the ball like a hawk all day long. When Johnson returned, he was ready. And the second delivery, pitching on a length similar to the one that had beaten him earlier, was caressed through the covers for a boundary. Vijay was just getting started though. And as the mercury levels hit fever pitch at the Gabba, it was the Aussies who were chasing the ball, when they weren’t wilting under the incorrigible Brisbane heat that is, as Vijay sent them on a good ol’ leather-hunt.

By the time he was dismissed by Nathan Lyon, consumed by exhaustion and a teasingly flighted delivery, the 30-year-old had set up the Gabba Test for India, who finished the day 311/4, with an enduring yet stylish 144 on Wednesday.

Art of leaving

It was only the second time that a visiting team had scored over 300 on the opening day of the match at the Gabba after West Indies in the first tied Test back in 1961, and with Ajinkya Rahane still unbeaten on 75. It was the second Test in a row that the Indian batting line-up had proved that they weren’t overawed by the Aussie challenge and the third innings in a row that Vijay had exhibited that he was now a complete all-weather, all-season Test opener. Quite literally so.

As with most Vijay innings in the longer format, there were a number of deliveries that were allowed to pass through to the wicket-keeper. At the Gabba it made for good TV too, as Brad Haddin kept collecting the ball near his shoulder, or at times even in front of his face. In all Vijay shouldered arms to 30 per cent of the 213 deliveries he faced. But here on the first day, Vijay’s century was played in three phases. It was a mixture of circumspection and assertion in the first session, a period of ample conservatism in the second and unbridled stroke-play in the third.

Characteristically, the area behind point was profitable at the start of Vijay’s innings. Two of his first three boundaries came in that arc, both times the ball catching the edge of his bat. Then came a flurry of trademark Vijay boundaries; the elegant drive through the covers, the square-drive of immense aesthetic value and the effortless leg-glance.

Going into the lunch-break, he had scored his 46 at a strike-rate of 61.33 with six fours. Between lunch and tea though Vijay pulled out all the stops, and decided to tire the already weary Aussies out, scoring only 27 off the 72 deliveries he faced in this period. He in fact scored just two runs of the 27 he faced leading into the third session. Then he broke free. The arrival of Rahane too played its part, with the Mumbai right-hander providing momentum at the other end.

Vijay started with a flurry of boundaries, hitting eight in the first half hour of the third session. Hazlewood was whipped through square-leg before being slashed over point. Then a wide full-toss from Johnson was punched through extra-cover for another boundary.

He was feeling the heat too, with cramps hindering his running between the wickets. Vijay was doing a lot more than shouldering arms.

He was instead opening up his shoulders and going after the Aussies. When they pitched it full, he launched it over the covers or mid-off, regardless of whether it was Johnson, Hazlewood or Lyon. Then came back-to-back boundaries of Shane Watson, as Vijay became the fourth Indian to score a century at the Gabba, even if it took Rahane to tell him about his achievement.

At Adelaide, Vijay had shown enough glimpses of his gumption and resilience. Here, he was showing off his dominant side, the one that shows up when he turns up in the multiple colours of his IPL franchises. At one stage India had hit 20 boundaries, which included an all-run four, 18 of which belonged to Vijay. Such was his domination.

Making a point

And post reaching the three-figure mark, Vijay was dealing mainly in boundaries, but still dragging his beat body back and forth the Gabba square for his partner’s sake. Along the way, he even brought up his 2000th Test run and took his batting average past the 40-run mark. Significant milestones for one considered not good enough to last the tests and tribulations of the highest level.

There has never been a dearth of detractors raising questions over his calibre to overcome feisty challenges overseas. It’s been a theme of his career in many ways. He had shown promise in South Africa and New Zealand by the time India went to England. ‘But surely he wouldn’t stand a chance against the swing and seam of the English pacers’ they said. His response was ending up as India’s second highest run-getter on tour.

Yet, many claimed that Australia would sort him out. The menace of Johnson would be too hot to handle for Vijay. But for the second time in two weeks, he had come up tops, and taken his team to a strong position at the end of the opening day. And with a chance for an unlikely victory, if they keep their eye on the ball from this point on. Just like Vijay did.