The joy of playing helps Wasim Jaffer excel consistently

It was a normal day in the office for Mumbai's perennial run-machine Wasim Jaffer as he scored a century on the first day of his side's Ranji Trophy against Vidarbha at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.

Jaffer marked the first day of the first-ever clash between these two sides by scoring his 34th Ranji Trophy ton - most by any batsman in the tournament. It was also his 50th first-class century, enabling the 35-year-old to join an elite list of seven other Indian cricketers - Sachin Tendulkar (81), Sunil Gavaskar (81), Rahul Dravid (68), Dilip Vengsarkar (55), VVS Laxman (55) and Mohammad Azharuddin (54).

Jaffer's mantra though is very simple. "I just enjoy playing the sport," he says nonchalantly. "I am fortunate to play for Mumbai. It's not something that has happened overnight. It's been solid hard work for 17-18 years. Playing for Mumbai, I can't take any game lightly. Of course, the aim is to play at the highest level but I am very lucky to represent Mumbai."

Despite his experience, it wasn't easy to bat in the first session on Thursday as Vidarbha bowlers backed their skipper's decision to field first on a morning when the ball was moving a bit.

"The first session was tough. After lunch, the wicket eased out and we recovered well after a slow start but we lost too many wicket," said the centurion, who was undefeated on 133 at stumps with Mumbai on 254 for eight.

On his preparations and goals ahead of the domestic season, Jaffer says, "There is no specific plan as such. The idea is to go out there and score a lot of runs. I like to do that and only think of doing that and hope that the runs count for the team's results."