Mumbai, Nov 3: Abhishek Nayar commenced the Ranji Trophy 2012-13 season with a century against Railways, thereby strengthening Mumbai’s position in the game after they were given the edge by Sachin Tendulkar and Ajinkya Rahane’s tons yesterday. The left-hand batsman is an experienced campaigner and known to play long innings. Batting with the lower order, Nayar brought up his century with a six over long-off, off Murali Kartik. He remained unbeaten on 107 to put the home team in a commanding position.

Speaking to the media later in the evening, Nayar said that his team hopes to make early inroads tomorrow and will try to force a result in the game.

Excerpts from his press conference:

A crucial knock for you at the beginning of the season

I am happy with the way things went; it’s important how you start. I would like to get the momentum going and the conditions were a little conducive to spin so I am quite happy and content with my innings.

You were batting well last year as well but suffered a wrist injury. How has it impacted your career?

I am a firm believer that whatever happens, happens for the best. There are lots of what ifs, but I’d rather not focus on that. Whatever opportunities I get, I’ll go there and try to get as many runs as possible and give my best. Injuries are part of the game. I just take it as it comes rather than dwell on it. It’s been unfortunate, I’ve had a couple of injuries at the wrong time but I keep working hard and try to come back harder.

What was it like towards the end when you were nearing your century and the last batsman walked in?

I was a little skeptical with the way things were going because the ball was turning and bouncing. But when Zak [Zaheer Khan] came in, he told me to keep playing and that he’d try and stay around till the end. At that point, I was like I’ll just keep playing and see how it goes. If it is meant to be it will and it was.

What do you make of the pitch?

I think it’s a good pitch, I think we’ve bowled really well. It is turning a bit. A couple of catches didn’t go our way but we have bowled in good areas. They’ve taken the attack to Ramesh Powar but it’s a good pitch, it’s on the slower side but hopefully we can make some early inroads and push through.

Can you force a result now?

Certainly! It’s not a flat deck, the way things are going we are on top as of now and hopefully tomorrow in the morning get a few wickets up front and push them to do something different.

You are consistent but not stylish batsman and a certain flourish is associated with left-hand batsmen. Has that perception worked against you?

Everyone can think what they like to; I can’t sit and question everyone. But I just try and make sure that whenever I go there, I do well. Obviously, I’m not going to try and look stylish if I’m not. I can bat with a lot of intent, a lot of will. Every now and then I’ll have an innings where I’ll go berserk and get a lot of runs but today the situation wasn’t there where I could play a lot of shots.

How did you feel captaining Mumbai in the Shafi Darasha tournament?

I liked responsibility. I’ve been doing well, I played a Police Shield game coming into the tournament and got a 100 there. It helped me get into the groove because we haven’t had a lot of cricket in the past because of the weather. I think that gave me good preparation coming into this tournament and we have practiced really hard on game; all that has helped me.

Do you think you lost out on the captaincy?

Ajit [Agarkar] is an able leader; he’s got something he deserves. Captaincy or no captaincy my job is to go out there and perform and give my best. Ajit is the perfect leader.

How are you working on your fitness?

For me fitness has never been about how strong or fit I am. It’s always been about freak injuries. Last year when I was doing really well, I fractured my thumb while fielding. These kinds of things are not really in your control. Fingers crossed, I’ve never had injuries like a pull or something like that, I’ve always had more serious injuries. When I had my wrist surgery, it was a bony injury. It’s not in my control. I try and make sure that I work hard on my fitness. Whatever I can control I try and control that.