Karun Nair slams century against Kerala in Ranji Trophy; continues its meteoric run after India A snub | Cricket News
Out-of-favour Indian batter Karun Nair continued his fine form with a solid unbeaten 142 to lead Karnataka to 319 for three on the first day of their Ranji Trophy Group B match against Kerala on Saturday. Having opted to bat first, Karnataka suffered early setbacks as openers Aneesh KV (8) and captain Mayank Agarwal (5) fell cheaply. Nair then steadied the innings, first combining with wicketkeeper Krishnan Shrijith (65 off 110 balls) for a crucial stand that set the platform for recovery.
At stumps, Karun was unbeaten on 142, accompanied by Smaran Ravichandran, who bowled 88 off 143 deliveries. Their unbroken partnership saw Karnataka end the day in control. Nair’s innings included 14 boundaries and two sixes, underlining his authority at the crease. Earlier, Shrijith’s 10 fours helped keep the scoring pace going until the middle of the overs. For Kerala, MD Nideesh (1/41), Nedumankuzhy Basil (1/58) and Baba Aparajith (1/65) were the wicket-takers on a day that largely belonged to the Karnataka middle-order. The knock marked Nair’s second century of the season after his unbeaten 174 against Goa in the previous round, and also took him past 9,000 runs in first-class cricket. The 33-year-old became only the sixth Karnataka batter to reach this milestone, joining Rahul Dravid, G. Vishwanath, Brijesh Patel, Syed Kirmani and Robin Uthappa. Nair, who last played for India in the five-match Test series against England earlier this year, has now scored two-and-a-half centuries this season, further strengthening his case for a national comeback. However, his omission from the India A team for South Africa’s A red ball matches marked the ‘end of the road’ for him in the Tests.
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He even spoke about the same and told TOI that he would “only play Ranji Trophy”.Brief scores: At Thiruvananthapuram: Karnataka 319/3 in 90 overs (Karun Nair 142*, Smaran Ravichandran 88*, Krishnan Shrijith 65; MD Nideesh 1/41, Nedumankuzhy Basil 1/58, Baba Aparajith 1/65). PTI
