When India captain Shubman Gill acquired the variety of modifications within the XI blended up, he did not miss Karun Nair’s identify. He was fairly clear about his return within the XI instead of Shardul Thakur, and so was the Indian workforce administration about their eight-batter principle. Proper by way of this five-Check sequence, they’ve most well-liked a batting possibility at No.8 and when Rishabh Pant was injured and Nitish Kumar Reddy was already out, it was a on condition that they’d fall again to Karun Nair.
Karun Nair’s ‘second probability’ hadn’t actually gone to plan. Within the six possibilities that he acquired, the skilled right-hander didn’t register a single half-century regardless of getting his eyes in on just about each event. He was dropped from the XI at Previous Trafford, which many believed was a full cease on his profession. However as Karun Nair has proven again and again in his profession, by no means say by no means.
Karun Nair was not solely again within the Indian XI but in addition holding their hopes of a series-levelling win. At Stumps on Day 1 of the fifth Check, Nair was unbeaten on 52. It was his first 50-plus rating in Check cricket since making that record-breaking triple century (303) in Chennai in 2016 in opposition to the identical opposition.
And it got here on probably the most tough pitch of this sequence. It got here at a time when his profession was on the road. The guests acquired the primary style of the English situations on this sequence as The Oval greeted them with a inexperienced high. The overcast, gloomy and damp situations added to the issue degree because the ball continued to zip round proper by way of the day. However Karun Nair stood tall. He had batted at three, batted at six however No.5 introduced luck for him.
Coming in to bat on the fall of captain Shubman Gill’s wicket as a result of a suicidal run out, Karun hit seven fours and his unbeaten 52 off 98 balls to take India to 204 for six at stumps.
Former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik mentioned Karun Nair’s profession was something however over with the type of knock he performed in powerful situations on Thursday.
“Nicely performed, Karun Nair. That is a high-quality fifty in actual powerful situations. Karun Nair’s profession is properly and actually again. If he hadn’t performed this Check, then the workforce administration might properly have appeared past him,” Karthik mentioned on commentary.
Former India quick bowler Varun Aaron was mighty impressed with the best way Karun saved smooth palms whereas enjoying at deliveries exterior the off stump. His behavior of hanging the bat exterior the off stump had led to his downfall a number of instances within the sequence however not on Day 1 of the series-finale.
“This might have been his final probability, however he has capitalised. The pitch was doing quite a bit, however Karun Nair is standing tall. What stood out was Karun Nair’s purposeful try and have smooth palms to deliveries exterior off stump,” Aaron mentioned on JioHostar after the day’s play.