Consistent Murali Vijay keeps India's hope alive in Australia

Brilliance of Murali Vijay continues to hog the limelight in Australia. The Indian opener on Saturday posted yet another half-century to help the tourists close Day 2 at 108 for 1, keeping themselves in the match and series.

Consistent Murali Vijay keeps India's hope alive in Australia

New Delhi: Brilliance of Murali Vijay continues to hog the limelight in Australia. The Indian opener on Saturday posted yet another half-century to help the tourists close Day 2 at 108 for 1, keeping themselves in the match and series.

His undefeated 102-ball innings was all poise and class. When Day 3 action resumes tomorrow at the imposing Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), how well he plays will decide the fate of the series. India are already down 0-2 in the four-match series after losing the Adelaide and Brisbane matches.

Amidst the pile, Murali stands tall, scoring freely and creating new records.

He is only behind the imperious Steve Smith in terms of run aggregate with 378. In four innings, Vijay has so far posted a century and three half-centuries. His four fifty-plus scores is the most by an Indian opener in a series in Australia.

Also, the 30-year-old requires another 86 runs to overtake Virender Sehwag's aggregate of 464 runs (in 2003) as the Indian opener with most runs in a series in Australia. He is currently in third position, behind legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar who had scored 450 runs (in 1977) in a five-match series.

With three possible innings still left in the series, the 30-year-old can hope to improve that record.