Murali Vijay helped India in their winning cause in the second ODI over Zimbabwe, scoring a gritty 72 at the top of the order, while adding 112 runs for the first wicket alongside skipper Ajinkya Rahane, who also chipped in with a half century on Sunday.
Vijay made his ODI debut against South Africa back in 2010 and thereafter he got to play only five ODIs. In the first ODI of the ongoing series against Zimbabwe, he was out cheaply and one would have thought that he gave away an opportunity to shine. But he made a strong comeback in the second ODI, which would have been much more to his liking.
"I've been there or thereabouts in the one-dayers and have been the third opener for quite some time, so this is a good opportunity for me to establish myself as a one-day player. I always wanted to play this format and play all three formats. So it's just around the corner. You've got to wait your turn. I'm not in a hurry, but when I get an opportunity I'm keen to score runs," Vijay was quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
Vijay and Rahane powered India to a total of 271 runs in the second ODI against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club. Although, India lost a bit of momentum during the middle overs, in the end they managed to put a challenging total on the board. Later, the Zimbabwean batsmen struggled to get those runs, losing wickets at regular intervals.
"You saw in the first game we had a bit of a collapse, so we thought we would rather take time and play our game, so that we give the middle order an opportunity to come and do their job. We did that," Vijay said.
Vijay will be looking forward to making an impression in the third ODI against Zimbabwe at the same venue.
India will play Zimbabwe in the final match of the ODI series on Tuesday.
