Just want to play my ‘A’ game, says Vijay

Cape Town, Jan 3 : India Test opener Murali Vijay on Wednesday said he wants to play his ‘A’ game in the upcoming match against South Africa here on Friday.

Vijay also said he is in positive frame of mind for the match and not taking any sort of stress.

“I just want to go out there and whatever is thrown at me, I just want to play my ‘A’ game and do well for my country,” Vijay told reporters after the practice session here.

“I don’t want to think too much about what will happen in a couple days’ time. I just want to prepare myself and be in a confident state of mind, which I am at the moment,” he added.

Despite the conditions and pitch favouring the fast bowlers, the Tamil Nadu batsman said the role of spinners will also be important.

“It is actually a very, very important role because you have to support the fast bowlers as well. If you can bowl the spinners in the game, they can come in big time and get a couple of wickets here and there, so it will be a great help for us,” he said.

The right-hand opener revealed that this time he has done his homework better than the last time when he toured here.

“I am preparing myself to be a little more open-minded than I was last time. You cannot have a set pattern you cannot go into a Test thinking that you are going to leave so many balls. You also have to be in a frame of mind to score runs,” Vijay said.

Commenting on the pitch, Vijay said: “It is quite green. I don’t know how it is going to behave on day one. For an opening batsman, the swing is more difficult to face than bounce. Personally, I think I am able to manage bounce more. If the ball swings around, it is difficult for any batsman to keep his shape.”

IANS