Vidarbha’s seasoned batter Karun Nair has added another feather to his illustrious cap, surpassing 8,000 First-Class runs during the Ranji Trophy final against Kerala at the VCA Stadium, Jamtha, on Wednesday. Nair, playing his 114th First-Class match, reached the milestone when he got to 10 runs after Vidarbha was put in to bat by Kerala skipper Sachin Baby.
Walking in at number five with the scoreboard reading 24 for three, the 33-year-old had a crucial role to play in stabilizing the innings. Now, he has reached his half-century as well, his 36th in red-ball cricket. In the meantime, Nair also has 22 triple-figure marks.
Karun Nair’s incredible domestic campaign
Nair’s resurgence in domestic cricket has been nothing short of spectacular. Coming off a stellar Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign, where he amassed 752 runs with five centuries in seven innings, he carried that form into the Ranji Trophy. His timely knocks, including a hundred in Vidarbha’s last league game against Hyderabad and a crucial century in the quarterfinal against Tamil Nadu, have underlined his batting prowess.
With over 650 runs this season, including three centuries and a half-century, Nair sits third among Vidarbha’s top run-getters, playing a vital role in their journey to the final.
This is Nair’s fourth Ranji Trophy final appearance. He played a key role in Karnataka’s title-winning campaigns in 2013-14 and 2014-15, famously scoring a match-winning 328 against Tamil Nadu in the latter. For Karnataka, Nair scored over 3,700 runs in FC cricket.
Last season, he was part of Vidarbha’s squad that finished as runners-up to Mumbai. Beyond the domestic circuit, Nair’s name remains etched in Indian cricket history for his unbeaten 303 against England in Chennai, making him only the second Indian after Virender Sehwag to register a Test triple century.
