India vs Sri Lanka: Virat Kohli-Murali Vijay partnership showed how runs at top of order could spur a team

If Murali Vijay’s batting stance had been a more conventional one — with one foot planted on either side of the batting crease — the third wicket partnership with Virat Kohli would probably have been flourishing on the second day of the Test too. Vijay, though, had both feet outside the crease at stance. Thus when he reached out to play left arm spinner Lakshan Sandakan off the front foot, his right foot was anchored on the crease rather than behind it. Vijay had already batted superbly for close to six hours and when he was tricked by the angle of the delivery and the googly bowled by the wrist spinner he simply was too weary to rapidly seek the safety of the crease. The ball beat the bat and left him smartly stumped by a vigilant wicketkeeper, Niroshan Dickwella. [caption id=“attachment_4239385” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] India’s Virat Kohli (right), and Murali Vijay walk toward pavilion at tea break on Saturday. AP[/caption] The Lankans, including bowler Sandakan, were so pepped up by the dismissal that the bowler also accounted for the horrendously out-of-form Ajinkya Rahane in his very next over. But before these wickets allowed the visitors to repair for the day with a semblance of respectability, it was the crushing impact of the third wicket partnership that left the Lankans gasping. The pair of Vijay and skipper Kohli came together in the second hour of play when there was still something in the pitch to encourage the bowlers. The ball was semi-new and hard enough to keep the fast bowlers interested. This forced the batsmen to be watchful at the start. Importantly, they had to forge a partnership that would knock the stuffing out of the Lankans. And they did just that during the course of their massive 283-run third wicket partnership. The key to any good partnership is the comfort level in each other’s company. Each batsman must be confident of the other’s ability to keep his end intact and at the same time respond appropriately to calls for quick running between the wickets. Once these two elements are sorted out the partnership can focus on targets, milestones and other strategies. Obviously, on Saturday, one of the first targets would have been to survive into the lunch break. They not only did that, but Vijay helped himself to a hard-earned half century. They got a lot more ambitious in the second session when Vijay’s century, along with 129 runs, were added to the kitty. The importance of adding those runs and at the same time not losing wickets through an entire session, can never be understated. Partnerships like these demoralise the opposition and sap their energy levels. It is no surprise that most memorable victories have their roots in big, long and effective partnerships. Certainly the most memorable one in this millennium is the game-changing 376-run, fifth-wicket stand between VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid against the all-conquering Aussies in Kolkata 16 years ago. If the Australians’ intention then was to heap a humiliating innings defeat on the home side, India gave it back in spades. Laxman and Dravid’s partnership left the Aussie cricketers tired, dispirited and defeated. They lost from there without even putting up a fight. Indeed many members of the current Indian team are no strangers to big partnerships. Vijay had a match-winning 308-run stand with maestro Sachin Tendulkar against the Aussies in Bangalore seven years ago. Three years later, he and Cheteshwar Pujara carved out 370 runs for the second-wicket partnership against the Aussies. Like Vijay and Pujara, Kohli and Rahane too had been involved in a massive 365-run fourth-wicket stand against New Zealand at Indore last year. Thus, at least four of the current Indian batsmen understand the dynamics of a huge partnership in Tests. Even others, Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul, for example, have forged three-figure opening stands in Tests. Additionally, Vijay and Pujara too added 209 runs for the second wicket in a winning cause at Nagpur last week. Partnerships like the ones between Vijay and Kohli or Vijay and Pujara work wonders for the mental state of the team. It gives the team a sense of comfort and well-being. The batsmen get to trust one another and feed off one another’s hard work, persistence and focus. Crucially when strike rotation is constant it allows the partners to stay sharp and enjoy each other’s company. Good partnerships between top-order batsmen give the team the necessary edge in a contest. In the Indian context, the batsmen should make this a habit and carry that onto more challenging tours to ensure that the bowlers always have a good total to defend. South Africa would be a good place for these batting exponents to re-emphasise their faith in each other and further develop substantial partnerships. On that rests India’s hopes of making this a season to reckon with.