Karun Nair racks a ton against Tamil Nadu in Ranji Trophy match [Source: @CricCrazyJohns/X.com]
Senior batter Karun Nair showcased his class with a well-compiled century on Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy Elite 2024-25 second quarterfinal between Vidarbha and Tamil Nadu at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground in Nagpur.
Karun Nair's composed knock helped Vidarbha recover from early setbacks and end the day at a competitive 264/6. Winning the toss and electing to bat, Vidarbha had a shaky start as opener Atharva Taide departed for a duck, falling to Tamil Nadu’s S Ajith Ram. The early blows continued with Aditya Thakare (5) and Dhruv Shorey (26) also failing to build substantial partnerships.
Karun Nair Steps Up To Steady Vidarbha's Innings
However, the innings took a turn for the better with Danish Malewar (75) and Karun Nair steadying the ship. Nair, who walked in at a crucial stage, showed remarkable resilience with the bat.
Nair stitched together vital partnerships, particularly with Malewar and later with Harsh Dubey, ensuring Vidarbha put up a fighting total by stumps. The seasoned batter remained unbeaten on 100 off 180 deliveries, laced with 14 fours and one six.
Meanwhile, for Tamil Nadu, the bowling attack was led by Vijay Shankar with 2 wickets while Sonu Yadav, Ajith Ram and Mohamed Ali also chipped in with crucial breakthroughs to keep Vidarbha batters in check.
Karun Nair’s Stellar Career
Karun Nair is a prominent name in Indian domestic cricket, known for his technical prowess and temperament. The right-handed batter from Karnataka made headlines with his historic triple century against England in 2016, making him only the second Indian after Virender Sehwag to achieve the feat in Test cricket.
Despite limited opportunities at the international level, Nair has been a consistent performer in domestic cricket. He has played 109 first-class matches, amassing 7,636 runs with 20 centuries and 35 half-centuries. His List A record is equally impressive, scoring more than 3,100 runs with 8 hundreds.
Notably, in the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy, the veteran also etched his name in the record books by scoring 542 runs without getting dismissed in a single edition, a record in List A cricket.