Could he hear the rumble, way out there in the middle of the pitch?Could he hear anything over his heartbeat batting on 99?And how was there so much noise? The crowd was decent, yes, but nowhere near capacity.Cheteshwar Pujara could certainly charm the cricket ball. But could his powers extend to other inanimate objects? Because it wasnt so much a case of if the walls at the Saurashtra Cricket Stadium could talk, they were already bloody screaming.Rajkot rose and fell with one man. India rose and rose with two.M Vijay is a bit under-rated. Commentators often associate him with his leave, and while that is a superb skill for an opening batsman, it is a bit unfair. When he drives the ball - along the ground and over the top - it leaves you breathless. Imagine a saucy wink from the woman youre courting. When he flicks the ball - into an arc as wide as backward square leg to mid-on - it looks so natural. Imagine breathing. Its silly that people are surprised when he plays a shot well.He is especially effective in partnership with Pujara. In Tests, they are the most prolific pair Indian cricket has seen in a decade. It was because of their efforts that Englands mammoth lead of 537 had been cut down in half. And that was nothing new.Vijay and Pujara have put on 2081 runs together in 32 innings. The additions they make to the scoreboard, though, is simply the most tangible assessment of their worth.Both men, typically, like to bat time. Dot balls rarely perturb them. The opposition screeching at their ear doesnt often matter. They get inside a bubble, which probably stops a sledge and then turns it into a melody before it reaches their brain. One of the features that makes the Vijay-Pujara partnership so important for India is that they blunt the new ball so that their team-mates down the order, for whom the mandate is to attack, can do so as freely as possible.Lets say India are on tour - just to make things harder for our protagonists - and have conceded a big total. Over 500. Then they lose an early wicket. Vijay and Pujara get together. Neither of them can afford to be dismissed cheaply because that would mean Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane - two players who are most effective when they have the chance to dominate - have to bat within themselves and with a voice in the back of their heads giving them bad company. If you get out, if you make one mistake, it wont be too long before the tail is exposed.So Pujara and Vijay take their time, absorb the pressure, dull the threat of the opposition bowlers and set the innings up. Sound familiar?Adelaide 2014. They came together at 30 for 1 with Australia having put up 517, batted out 22.3 overs so that Indias captain could come in and dictate terms. The same thing happened in the second innings. Vijay and Pujara dug in for 15.1 overs to take India from 16 for 1 to 57 for 2. Vijay went on to make 99 and, alongside Kohli, nearly pulled off a chase for the ages.But that was a flat pitch. Lords 2014. The pitch was indistinguishable from the outfield. India lost the toss. England put them in. James Anderson and Stuart Broad were a blur of arms and legs obscured by smoke as they fought to get hold of the ball. Vijay and Pujara did not make big runs but they did shield the middle order, playing out nearly 20 overs together. That meant Indias eventual centurion Rahane only had to come in after the first session, when conditions were perhaps a little better. Just a little.In Adelaide, when India learnt they could frighten Australia, when they beat England at the home of cricket for only the second time in 82 years, and before that, in South Africa, on Indias first overseas tour since the whitewashes in England and Australia (not to mention the retirement of Sachin Tendulkar), Vijay and Pujara scrawled their names on the wall as if in a scene out of Shawshank Redemption.Both of us have been playing Test cricket for India for a long time, Pujara said. And especially, me and him are the ones who are just playing this format particularly. We spend a lot of time, not just on the field but also talking about the game, talking about this format.Sometimes, it is difficult for a player who is just playing this particular format because when were not playing the other formats, you dont get quality practice or youre not in touch with the game. We have played some domestic matches in the free time after the New Zealand series and we were there at the NCA to train before this series started.So I think its the communication which keeps us going. We know each others strength, we know what the opposition is trying to do and we always try to communicate. I think thats the most important thing about this batting unit, not just communicating with Vijay, but communicating with other players as well.The bond they have was easy to see. They batted, and trained together, two days before the Test. They shared details of which way the ball was swinging and updated their partner if England were shifting plans, like when Stuart Broad began bowling cutters in a spell of 5-4-1-0. The embraces as they celebrated their respective hundreds. Heck, Vijay was so desperate to get across and relieve Pujara of the strike when Chris Woakes was bouncing him that there was nearly a run-out.India seemed like they might get through the day losing only one wicket. But Ben Stokes broke through and Pujara was walking back, saddened he couldnt get the double-hundred he had set out for, annoyed he had just steered the ball straight to Alastair Cook at a wide slip. But here too, he had his partners help. Vijay ran all the way over and put his arm around Pujara consolingly.Indias success in a long home season will definitely depend heavily on their bowlers ability to take 20 wickets each Test. But for this match, for the rest of the series against England, and even for the one against the Australians next year, Vijay and Pujara will be vital. Fake College Jerseys . Miikka Kiprusoff had just announced his retirement after a decade-long run in Calgary and it would be up to Berra and Ramo to fill the void. Stitched College Jerseys .C. -- Kemba Walker and the Charlotte Bobcats got off to a fast start, and the Sacramento Kings were never quite able to catch up. https://www.fakecollegejerseys.com/ . Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shootout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night. Wholesale College Jerseys . Vettel, who has already clinched his fourth straight F1 title, enters the finale with a chance to equal Michael Schumachers 13 victories in a year and match the record of nine consecutive wins by Alberto Ascari in the 1952 and 1953 seasons. College Jerseys Black Friday . Ibaka equaled a career high with 20 rebounds, adding four blocked shots and 15 points as the Thunder smothered the Milwaukee Bucks offence in a 92-79 victory Saturday night. TORONTO -- The Miami Heat are learning to cope without Dwyane Wade this season.They also will have to learn how to cope with the Toronto Raptors hot-scoring DeMar DeRozan on Friday when the teams meet for the first time since the second round of the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs.The Heat had Wade then, but he left in the offseason to play for the Chicago Bulls.The Raptors, meanwhile, retained DeRozan, and the shooting guard has scored at least 30 points in each of his first four games this season.He scored 40 points for the second time this season Wednesday when the Raptors defeated the Washington Wizards 113-103 at the Verizon Center. He also hit his only 3-pointer of the season in that game.He gets to the line, so that kind of makes up for him not shooting (3-pointers) because hell probably shoot double-digit free throws, Heat guard Tyler Johnson said. Its definitely rare. I think D-Wade was able to do something similar to that where he would maybe shoot one or two 3s a game but still put up 30.DeRozan is averaging 36.3 points on 55.4 percent shooting this season.The team is built around him, said former Raptors forward James Johnson, now with the Heat. Im not taking anything away from DeMar. Hes a great player. He has 190 moves in his bag, but the team plays around him and they play around him well.The Raptors (3-1) defeated the Heat in seven games in the playoff series in May. Despite dealing with a thumb injury, DeRozan averaged 22.1 poiints while shooting 38.dddddddddddd8 percent in the series.He is playing at another level right now, said Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry, who took three stitches over his right eye in the first half Wednesday. Hes making my life a lot easier and everyone on our teams life a lot easier. Hes saving possessions, hes creating offense.DeRozan said, Im just a student of the game. I work extremely hard in the summer, extremely hard. I try to put everything together, be a student of the game while working, always feeling like Im new to the game so I can soak up as much as possible. I try to release that when I get on the court.Meanwhile, the Heat (2-2) are trying to establish a go-to player when the game is on the line now that Wade is gone.We knew where the ball was going (last year). This year, its whatever matchup we can exploit, said Johnson, who scored nine points in the final five minutes of regulation time and in overtime when the Heat defeated the Sacramento Kings 108-96 Tuesday.What we do have right now is a lot of guys that can attack and make plays, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. The game may dictate how thats played out in the fourth quarter. Those things you have to go through it. You can plan and talk as much as we do behind the scenes, but you have to go through it ultimately, and the team will let you know. ' ' '