Irani Cup: Vijay slams unbeaten ton

If Rest of India made batting look cinch on Saturday, Ranji champions Rajasthan displayed what could be termed an apology for bowling. Buoyed by Murali Vijay’s unbeaten 151 and half centuries from Ajinkya Rahane and captain Cheteshwar Pujara, RoI were 328 for two at stumps on Day Two of the Irani Cup match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Saturday.

For Vijay, it was a good start to the season. Rahane, with an unfaltering 81, got past the 5,000-runs mark in the first class cricket.   

The Rajasthan bowling was severely handicapped by the absence of two key bowlers – Pankaj Singh and Rituraj Singh — the star performers in their successful Ranji campaign last season. Deepak Chahar, who had once rocked Hyderabad with an eight-wicket haul, was a shadow of his former devastating self. Is the 20-year-old a victim of what they call “over-coaching” or did he lose his way trying to be what he is not: a fast bowler? A knee injury forced him out of the field. He bowled just 12 overs on the day.

RoI gave every credence to their much-touted line-up, comfortably racing to 125 for no loss in the first session. Rahane would no doubt have pocketed another first-class century but for an unfortunate run out after Vijay dropped his bat at the non-striker’s end. 

After their 173-run partnership for the first wicket, it was Pujara’s turn to pick up from where Rahane left. Vijay’s 10th first-class century came in the 60th over after he drove a Khatri ball to mid-on for a single. With 75 behind, Rajasthan will have to come up with an exceptional bowling performance if they were to make it an even contest.

Scorecard:
Rajasthan (1st innings): 253
Rest of India (1st innings, O/N: 2/0): A Rahane run out (Khatri) 81, M Vijay batting 151, C Pujara c Yagnik b Choudhary 78, S Badrinath batting 1; Extras: (B4, LB2, W5, NB6) 17; Total: (2 wickets; 91 overs) 328;  FoW: 1-173, 2-326; Bowling: A Choudhary 19-5-57-1, D Chahar 12.1-1-53-0, S Mathur 15.5-2-51-0, G Singh 24-2-79-0, M Khatri 19-1-72-0, V Saxena 1-0-10-0