 "Ranji Trophy Final, VID vs KER: Karun Nair knocks BCCI's door harder with a century against Kerala (WATCH)")
synopsis
With his fourth Ranji Trophy century, Karun Nair has knocked the BCCI selectors’ door harder by making a strong case for himself for India’s Test tour of England,
Vidarbha batter Karun Nair has made a statement with his impactful century on Day 4 of the ongoing Ranji Trophy final against Kerala at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium in Nagpur on Saturday, March 1.
Karun Nair has been in a sensational form in the ongoing domestic season and his century in the Ranji Trophy final has added more weight to the case of making a potential Team India comeback. Nair walked out to bat when Vidarbha were 7/2 and anchored the innings along with a crucial 182-run partnership with Danish Malewar (73 off 162 balls). After Danish’s dismissal at 189/3, the 31-year-old led Vidarbha’s batting and took the past 200-run mark in the 67th over of their second innings.
Karun Nair steadied Virdarbha’s innings while extending the team’s first innings. He was batting on 99 when hit the ball towards mid-wicket to take a quick single and complete his fourth century of the ongoing Ranji Trophy season off Jalaj Saxena’s delivery in the 59th over. It was a well-deserved century for an in-form Vidarbha batter as he received standing ovation from his teammates in the dressing room. As soon as he reached the century, Nair came up with a unique celebration, highlighting nine centuries in the ongoing domestic season. The video of the same was posted by BCCI Domestic on its X handle (formerly Twitter).
Watch: Karun Nair’s century and celebration
Vidarbha ended Day 4 with a total of 249/4 in 90 overs and 286-run lead on the board. Karun Nair played an unbeaten innings of 132 off 280 balls, including 10 fours and 2 sixes to put Vidarbha under control against Kerala.
With his fourth Ranji Trophy century, Karun Nair has knocked the BCCI selectors’ door harder by making a strong case for himself for India’s Test tour of England, which is slated to take place in June. He played for India in seven matches and amassed 374 runs, including a triple century, at an average of 62.33. After scoring a triple century in the Chennai Test against England in 2016, Karun Nair struggled to cement his place in the team due to inconsistent performances and he was later dropped from the squad.
How has Karun Nair performed in the 2024/25 domestic season?
The ongoing domestic season has been a redemption for Karun Nair after failing to make an impression in the three Ranji Trophy seasons - 2018/19, 2020/21, and 2021/22,where he didn’t score a single century for Karnataka side. He was completely dropped from the Karnataka squad and sought NOC from KCA to make his move to Vidarbha, which became a turning point of his career.
Karun Nair unleashed his firepower in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he was the highest run-getter, amassing 779 runs, including five centuries and a fifty, at an exceptional average of 389.50 in nine matches. He was dismissed only twice in the tournament. However, his extraordinary performance was not enough to make it to the India squad for the ODI series against England and the Champions Trophy 2025, though the BCCI chief selector acknowledged his consistency.
In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Nair aggregated 255 runs, including three fifties, at an average of 42.50 in six matches.
In the ongoing Ranji Trophy season, Karun Nair has amassed 860 runs, including four centuries and two fifties, at an average of 57.33 in nine matches. It remains to be seen whether his performance in this domestic season will get India recall for the upcoming Test tour of England.
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