'I started off as a grafter' - Badrinath

After lasting 205 balls and not having played a shot in anger, S Badrinath danced down the pitch to Rahul Sanghvi and hit him straight back over his head, clean as anything, and the ball thudded into the sightscreen, signalling the only six on a day where the scoring rate was just in excess of two runs per over. It was an amazing moment not because Badrinath is incapable of the big hits, but simply because it was a startling shot on a day when batsmen had to shelve their shots.

Indian cricket these days is full of cricketers who want to make an instant impact - and the best way to do that is to be a strokemaker. But Badrinath is different, and is proud of the fact that he began as a grafter and from that solid base has grown into something more. "I started off as a grafter," he told Cricinfo at the end of the day's play. "My range of strokes has increased over time, has become broader. Now I think I've got all the shots. It's basically a question of shot selection - which shots to play on which wickets, that's important."

Badrinath has made eight first-class centuries, and some of them have been invaluable to Tamil Nadu's cause, but this was perhaps the most critical, and he acknowledged that. "Given the circumstances I went out to bat in, 11 for 2, and the fact that this was not the easiest wicket to bat on, I would rate this innings among the best I've played," he said. "Perhaps this isn't my best-ever, but I'd rate it very highly."

There was another grafter on display on the day, in M Vijay, the debutant, who played almost five hours for his 59 and shared in a critical 127-run partnership for the third wicket after an early wobble. "He looks a good player, and has made plenty of runs in league cricket in Chennai," said Badrinath of Vijay. "He's a bit inexperienced in that he's playing his first Ranji match, but he's definitely a player for the future."

There is plenty of experience the team, though, with the likes of S Sharath and Ashish Kapoor having played domestic cricket for years, and Badrinath is not ignorant of this. "There are times when I can talk to these guys and get some inputs," he said. "I've played a bit of cricket myself, but you must remember this is just my third match as captain. So it certainly helps to have the right blend of guys, like we do."

Badrinath was also not especially concerned that his team had only managed 184 after winning the toss and choosing to bat. "The wicket was really slow and the ball was just not coming onto the bat," he said. "Considering that you had to be patient and look to play long. The runs will eventually come. Losing only three wickets in the whole day was a good effort, even if we only made 184 runs."

With the bounce not being consistent, it was hard work for the batsmen all round, and it's only going to get tougher as the pitch wears down. "It was hard to play both the spinners and the fast bowlers," he said, refusing to be drawn out on what was the easiest type of bowling to make runs against on this pitch. "The bounce isn't true, so the horizontal bat shots are completely ruled out. This makes it hard to get boundaries. In such situations you just have to work, work, work and try and pick up the ones and twos wherever you can."

The hundred was a timely one for Badrinath, with Dilip Vengsarkar, the chairman of selectors, watching the game from near the players' enclosure. When asked if Vengasarkar's presence put any added pressure on him, Badrinath laughed off the suggestion. "It wasn't a distraction," he said "I'm just going to go out there and play my game, whoever is watching or isn't. It wasn't any added pressure on me."