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Karun Nair Shuts Down Outside Noise With A Historic Comeback Century In England

Ritam

Karun Nair in action (Source: @Kunal_KLR/X)Karun Nair in action (Source: @Kunal_KLR/X)

Karun Nair, who came into criticism after being selected in India’s squad for the England tour, did not take much time to silence them all. The 33-year-old smashed an astonishing century – his 24th in First-Class cricket – on Friday when India A were up against England A at St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury.

Coming to bat at No. 3, Karun played with supreme confidence, smashing 14 delicious boundaries, in order to get to a memorable three-figure mark. He was ably supported by Sarfaraz Khan, who made 92 off just 119 balls.

New No. 3 For India Loading?

With Karun batting at No. 3 and getting success, India might have Shubman Gill potentially as their new No. 4 when he makes his full-time captaincy debut at Headingley, Leeds on June 20 when India begin their five-match Test series against England.

Batting first, skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran failed miserably, scoring only eight off 17 balls. Yashasvi Jaiswal got the start, but did not last long either. However, Sarfaraz and Nair held the fort, taking India A from 51/2 to 232/3 before the former lost to the 6-foot-seven-inch pacer Josh Hull.

At the time of writing this, India A are 258/3, with Nair batting on 114* alongside wicket-keeper batter Dhruv Jurel, who has made an unbeaten 8. Talking about the game, as many as 63.2 overs have been played in the first unofficial Test match so far.

It is important to note that this is a two-match Test series, with the second one to be played at County Ground, Northampton, starting from June 6 onwards.