MURALI VIJAY EYEING MIDDLE-ORDER POSITION ??

Murali Vijay may be India's No. 1 Test opener, but he surprised a few by choosing to bat in the middle-order in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy for Tamil Nadu. The 31-year-old batted at No. 4 in three games before taking a break against Services on Monday (December 14) which Tamil Nadu won by seven wickets in Hyderabad.

With Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan being the top two openers of the Indian ODI team for a while now, it's quite clear that Vijay is eyeing a spot in the middle-order. The form of Suresh Raina has been patchy of late, he managed only 68 runs from five ODIs against South Africa in October. Ambati Rayudu, who has been with the Indian team for a while now, too, hasn't done anything extraordinary.

Vijay, on his part, came very close to sealing a slot in the 50-over World Cup team in Australia-New Zealand earlier this year but lost out as the selectors decided to go in with Stuart Binny as the allrounder. But with the limited overs series to Australia coming up, Vijay could stake a claim as a floater who could be used in the middle-order or as an opener. The Tamil Nadu player has always believed that he is good enough for limited-overs cricket and that he deserves one more chance. He has scored 115 runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy so far at an average of 38.55 from three outings. M Sanjay, the TN coach, felt Vijay was quickly settling into his new role.

While the Tamil Nadu team management claims that the opener has come down to bat at No. 4 with the team's cause in mind, a source close to Vijay says that it's obvious he is eyeing a slot in the middle-order of the Indian team. "Having done so well in Tests in the last few seasons, Vijay is now looking to cement his place in the Indian ODI and T20s side. At the moment, the middle-order appears to be the only slot which can accomodate him," the source said.

Sanjay, though, said that the decision was taken by the team think-tank. "The Tamil Nadu skipper R Ashwin had a chat with Vijay since we felt the latter has a lot of experience and will strengthen our middle-order. Not only is he a good reader of the situation, Vijay has the range of shots which could give us the much needed big hits in the last few overs of the innings," Sanjay told TOI.

"Vijay has always been a team man to the core. He understood what the team expected of him and was able to adapt to the situation right from the first game against Assam," mentioned Sanjay.written by ~ CHARITHARDHA

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