Vijay Appreciation thread.

[Zanjeer]

I have hardly seen any freebies for him. ALl of them at his throat. Pull shot and hook shot always a high risk shot. It might not work all the time. You can hit even the rank long hop ball straight to fielder. Shane watson has gotten out so many times like that . It is almost like you don't rate VVS Laxman because he doesn't play lofted shot against spinner to "send message" . Percentage cricket is using your skills judiciously. Ironically M Vijay is definitely one of the most attractive batsman to watch when in flow. Watch his IPL sixes he pulled ball over long on for six

Well, I'm not talking about this series. I have never seen him hook even in Ipl matches. Maybe he would become someone like Steve Waugh. Who knows..anyway I'm happy he is scoring runs.

[express bowling]

My respect for Vijay has gone up after his performance in SAF. His technique as well as temperament has been impeccable.

[Ghost Buster]

@Vvs The best pullers can always roll the wrist and keep it down. Its getting into position quickly and judging it whether to play or leave. Viv richards was the best against short balls and was a master of playing pull and hook.

[cricketpitch]

Not every batsmen need to play every shot in the book. Leaving short pitched deliveries is a skill in itself. Vijay probably realizes that not playing the pull and hook is the right thing to do against these bowlers under these conditions. He has done well for India and that's what matters. Before the series started everyone was like Vijay is a hack and will be a sitting duck against the SA pacers. Now that he has done well, he cannot play hook/pull. It is difficult to please everyone.

[maniac]

I backed you vijay...:giggle:

....I showed faith in you....

..... I had belief in you..:cantstop:

:hysterical:

[flamy]

Respect. :hatsoff:

[express bowling]

These young Indian batsmen have tremendous adapting ability and are pretty fast learners. Temperamentally very good too. If this were a 4 test series, the practice they would have got on these pitches against this quality bowling would have been invaluable for the rest of their life. A 2 test series has robbed them of valuable experience.

[Old guy]

Respect. :hatsoff:

These young Indian batsmen have tremendous adapting ability and are pretty fast learners. Temperamentally very good too. If this were a 4 test series, the practice they would have got on these pitches against this quality bowling would have been invaluable for the rest of their life. A 2 test series has robbed them of valuable experience.

Don't think they need more practice Yeah lower order of rohit and rahane should do more but they will get chance in this match too and tbh we are gonna tour a lot next year and starting off against toughest opponent is gonna help a lot I expect this team to do very well in England now some of these guys will love England cos there will be even less bounce and just swing and inferior bowlers...I think it's enough for now hope we keep touring countries with a teams like we did here it should help too

[rkt.india]

Vijay impressed me when after successful Aus test series, he was failing in the IPL, the Anchor asked him about his poor form he said for me test cricket matters the most. :hatsoff: He just needs to keep the same attitude.

This.:hatsoff:

[rkt.india]

That is what i was talking about. He looked pretty much settled. Not really bothered by anything. This is the kind of performance SA bowlers expected from all our batsmen. Dangling the bat outside the off. Hope he learns from his peers. Considering it is young group it will be easier to exchange these ideas.

I think shot was on but problem for Dhawan was he played it on walk. He was late on the ball. His front foot was still in the air when ball hit the bat.

[rkt.india]

No.but dravid played the pull shot ' date=' it went for fours and sixers and I liked it. Pull doesn't mean you have to play it like Raina. As I said even dravid developed it later part of his career.[/quote'] Dravid always had pull shot since his debut.

[rkt.india]

Your message should not become "I am here to get out" . What is next? If a player doesn't play straight drive we should not accept him as a player? Best message to send a bowler who tries to bounce you out is ducking and leaving with confidence. No better than that. Because if you can do that 100 out of 100 times you will be successful. But if you go for 100 pulls you might not even have 50% success.

This. When batsman plays hook and pull, bowler thinks he is always in business but what frustrates the bowler most is he running in bowling at 145K and batsman nonchalantly leaves it. There is nothing more frustrating that that.

[Detonator]

Vijay finds middle ground M Vijay can look a star or a pretender, but in Durban today he produced a pivotal innings which may very well set the platform for more to come

M Vijay gives you the impression of being a moody batsman. When it clicks for him, he can effortlessly play some of the most extraordinary shots. When it doesn't, Vijay can look ugly, scratching around, playing half-hearted shots and then eventually nicking a wide delivery. Despite three sizeable hundreds - 139, 167 and 158 - in 19 Tests before this, his average was only 37. Vijay has had no middle ground. It manifests itself in that he is an IPL star and a Test opener, but he struggles in ODIs. Vijay averaged 17.25 in Ranji Trophy last year, but was still picked for higher levels, a punt he repaid with back-to-back 150s against Australia. Again, what was missing in his career was something between a million dollar and nothing. Innings where he would struggle, but still fight it out. Each of his three innings on this tour so far has ticked that box. There is nothing spectacular about what Vijay has done on this tour, but he has gritted it out, more so in Johannesburg than here in Durban, where the conditions have been more like India than South Africa. Even on the first day at the Wanderers when he scored just 6, Vijay spent more than an hour at the wicket, refusing to go looking for runs when they were not available. Eventually he got a beauty from Morne Morkel, which might have got great batsmen out. In the second innings, Vijay stuck around for longer, saw the new ball off when South Africa's bowlers would have been at their most charged. It tired the bowlers - Morkel got injured - and the base was set for Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara to dominate. What Vijay has managed in Durban - he is nine short of what could be his first century outside India and against a team other than Australia - has its root in the Johannesburg struggle. Even at Kingsmead, he was cautious and patient at the start. The pitch was to his liking, but he gave the bowlers due respect before opening up. The most threatening balls here were the ones Morkel got to jump from just short of a length. Vijay scored only 9 off 33 deliveries from Morkel. The one time he got adventurous against the tall fast bowler was when he had reached his fifty, but that outside edge - his only boundary off Morkel - would have reinforced the need for caution against South Africa's best bowler of the series. The other weapon South Africa tried was short-and-fast bowling. Vijay was hit on the arm, he was hit on the guard, but he marched on. Well not quite. Progress was slow, but there was a price on his wicket. The loose deliveries came once again from South Africa's spinner, Robin Peterson, who began with a full toss that was put away for four. Vijay was 20 off 52 when Peterson came on but those few loose overs gave him confidence and he began to flow freely. That spell of freedom continued until he reached the 70s with successive fours off Vernon Philander, which suggested he was playing in south India and not South Africa. He felt confident, and could play in front of the body now. When Philander overpitched, Vijay placed it gracefully through the covers. The next one was shorter and wide. Vijay was nowhere near it, but punched deliberately over cover. South Africa tightened up again, except for the re-emergence of Peterson, which helped Vijay to the 90s. Towards the end, though, in fading light, they went back to testing the batsman's patience with quick and short bowling with a leg trap in place. Vijay didn't look the most comfortable, but he survived the period, scoring just one run in 23 balls. He lived to fight another day. This was neither Vijay's most attractive innings nor his best, but it is worth 91 and is the middle ground his career needed.

Still this stupid monga spewing crap. He is suggesting that the pitch is flat and Vijay isn't a long term solution. Geez, it's hard to survive unless u r from mumbai. :headshake:

[peterparker]

But it was flat pitch naaaaaaaaaaaaaa as per weasles, morkel

[Zanjeer]

I would again say' date=' " if the ball is there to be hit" not every ball. Dravid and sachin did played hooks whenever they felt the ball was there to be hit. As a result, bowlers knew that if they bowl a bad short pitch delivery, its gonna travel. That's not the case with Vijay, no matter how bad the short pitch delivery is aimed at, he is gonna try and leave it. So, bowlers will keep on bowling it and one small error of judgment, you are gone.[/quote'] Just as I said, got out on a short pitch delivery..had he hooked, he would not have got out. Have to have this shot in his armory..

[Zanjeer]

Surprisingly no one is here to say anything now. Lol..

[King Tendulkar]

^ O come on batted so well.

[Zanjeer]

^ O come on batted so well.

I was talking about his handling of short pitch deliveries. Read the post I quoted above..he got out exactly the way I said.

[King Tendulkar]

I was talking about his handling of short pitch deliveries. Read the post I quoted above..he got out exactly the way I said.

yeah but he scored a lot of runs before that

[Zanjeer]

yeah but he scored a lot of runs before that

yeah. No one can deny that.