How current India players performed on the last West Indies tour

Murali Vijay

Murali Vijay has emerged as one of the most consitent Test batsmen for India

One of the epitomes of consistency and solidity in the Indian batting line-up, especially at the top of the order, Murali Vijay, didn’t have the best of tours back in 2011, as he failed to register a single score in excess of 50 from the 6 innings that he played. Opening the Indian innings along with Abhinav Mukund, his Tamil Nadu teammate, Vijay could not provide India with solid starts, which resulted in extra pressure on the middle order as well as the lower middle order. Consequently, the likes of Rahul Dravid, MS Dhoni, and Suresh Raina had to step up to revive the Indian innings in each of the three Tests. Scores of 8, 0, 11, 3, 5 and 45 from 6 innings meant that Vijay managed just 72 runs in the series at an average of 12, and was nowhere near to being at his best.

However, Vijay has come a long way since that tour, and over the past 5 years has matured into a terrific Test match opening batsman. The 32-year-old has been one of India’s most consistent batsmen over the past few years, especially during overseas tours, with the most noticeable performances as a testament of the fact being his Test centuries in England and Australia in 2014 and 2015 respectively, and a 97 against South Africa in Durban in 2013. During the last Test series that India played – against the Proteas at home – Vijay, along with Ajinkya Rahane, was one of the most prolific batsmen for India, on surfaces that were rank turners from Day 1. The right-handed batsman has 2360 runs from 37 Tests at 41.09 with 6 Test hundreds and 12 fifties.