Mumbai, Nov 13: Returning after two surgeries and a six-month break from cricket, Abhishek Nayar scored his first double century in the Ranji Trophy in Mumbai’s Elite encounter against Rajasthan.

Excerpts from the Mumbai all-rounder’s post-match media interaction:

On today’s innings versus the knock against Delhi in the semifinal last season

That was a semifinal so you take it differently. I have enjoyed a lot of knocks […] but for me [this] is a very important knock in my career, coming back from injury. [There] were a lot of question marks five months back. For me it is about redeeming myself, my confidence. That I can come back and do whatever is needed and try and get big runs [is important]. It was very emotional for me because I was gone for a long time; so to come back strong was what I was looking for.

On whether he wanted to prove that he could play a long innings

Yes. [It is important] for me to play according to the format of the game; I have leant that over a period of time. When I needed to play shots, I played shots, when I needed to [hold] back, I just [held] back. For me it was always about making sure that the team got through initially. Once that happened, I was just trying to bat as much as I could and make them grind because they made us grind last year.

On Murtuza Hussain who batted with him when he was nearing his double century (Nayar was on 177 when Murtuza joined him)

I knew he would bat very cautiously. When he came in first I was a bit edgy, but once he started batting I was quite confident he would keep batting with me. Unfortunately I got out [on 243]. He has always been a good batsman; I have played with him and had partnerships with him before so I was confident that he would keep batting.

On whether the plan was to take as much of the strike as possible while batting with the tail-enders

Initially I decided to play with confidence, with the last wicket I started playing more aggressively [hitting 23 off 13 balls] till I got to 200. After that I made sure that in the first four balls I would try and play a boundary shot […] and make sure [the tail-ender] played as few balls as possible.

On the next match against Karnataka

I think every match is going to be good, not only [the one against] Karnataka. It’s about going there and playing whatever I know, whatever the team knows. What has to happen will happen. It’s just about making sure that we prepare well again. [We need to] forget what’s happened and make sure that we are better prepared. We are looking for a win; that should be our approach.

On the last game against Karnataka in Mysore

It was a high-intensity game. The amount of effort I put in, my batting [in] that innings was phenomenal. I still remember I was talking to myself every single ball when I was batting. [I] was making sure that nothing passed my bat. I was very focussed on my innings so it was very emotional. The crowd was all anti-Mumbai, etc. so I was aggressive. But off the field [I am] friends with almost everyone. There is no bad blood between the teams. But on the field you never know; things happen.

On changing his natural game and playing the anchor when among other stroke-makers

I was very happy with the shots I played because I didn’t really play a lot of balls in the air. It’s a good addition to my game because I know that if I want to hit the ball, I know I can. So that is not what I have to prove to myself. I have to prove to myself the fact that I can also get runs playing along the carpet which is more difficult in four-day cricket. It was about cutting down on the flamboyance and making sure I played gritty [cricket] [with a] more sensible approach.

On whether he gave SK Yadav any advice during his fiery knock

I have played with him; I know how he plays. He is young so I didn’t want to confuse him by telling him do this or do that. I have been through that in my career; when I first came into the team, I played a lot of shots. So I didn’t want to tell him do this or that because he may end up doing something [that] he doesn’t know. I left him to do what he knows best. I’m sure he will learn from what he has done and eventually he will become a much better player than what he already is. I don’t want to force or enforce myself on him. One shot here or there, that happens.

On whether he felt the pressure on Day 3 when Rohit Sharma was dismissed

I wasn’t thinking a lot about what was happening around me; I was worried about what was happening within me. I was focussed about what I do right. I didn’t want anything to disturb my concentration. It was just about hanging in there and playing my game and making sure I didn’t lose my wicket no matter what. I knew if I was there the pressure would always be there on Rajasthan knowing that a [settled] batsman was still batting.

On comparing the last time Mumbai played against Rajasthan with this year

Even last time I put a lot of effort against them. So after bowling 48 overs and hardly batting, this year [we’re] giving them the same thing they gave us.