Latest news with #KarunNair
The Hindu
44 minutes ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
IND vs ENG Highlights, 5th Test Day 1: India 204/6 at Stumps; Karun Nair hits defiant fifty in difficult batting conditions
IND 204/6 at the end of Day 1 And that brings a fascinating day's play to the close! Rain threatened to play spoilsport on multiple occasions during the day, but in the end we managed to get 64 enthralling overs of play today on what has been the closest to a conventional English pitch so far this series. For India, Karun Nair is the story of the day. The 33-year-old walked to the crease at 83/3 with India having lost its skipper, and batted with patience to bring up his first score above 50 since THAT 300 in Chennai. A few other batters got starts, but the ceiling of India's total is now dependent on how Karun and Washington Sundar go tomorrow. For England, it was a strange day. Gus Atkinson was impressive on his return to the side, but the other bowlers struggled for any rhythm. Its struggles were compounded by what looks like a serious injury to Chris Woakes. However, it will hope to come back tomorrow and shoot India out without much addition to the scorecard.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
‘Karun Nair's career is back': Dinesh Karthik announces after he keeps India alive with first fifty since 303 in 2016
When India captain Shubman Gill got the number of changes in the XI mixed up, he didn't miss Karun Nair's name. He was pretty clear about his return in the XI in place of Shardul Thakur, and so was the Indian team management about their eight-batter theory. Right through this five-Test series, they have preferred a batting option at No.8 and when Rishabh Pant was injured and Nitish Kumar Reddy was already out, it was a given that they would fall back to Karun Nair. India's Karun Nair celebrates his half century during the first day of the fifth Test cricket match(PTI) Karun Nair's second chance hadn't really gone to plan. In the six chances that he got, the experienced right-hander failed to register a single half-century despite getting his eyes on pretty much every occasion. He was dropped from the XI at Old Trafford, which many believed was a full stop on his career. But as Karun Nair has shown time and again in his career, Never say never. Karun Nair was not only back in the Indian XI but also holding their hopes of a series-levelling win. At Stumps on Day 1 of the fifth Test, Nair was unbeaten on 52. It was his first 50-plus score in Test cricket since making that record-breaking triple century (303) in Chennai in 2016 against the same opposition. And it came on the most difficult pitch of this series. It came at a time when his career was on the line. The visitors got the first taste of the English conditions this series as The Oval greeted them with a green top. The overcast, gloomy and damp conditions added to the difficult level as the ball continued to zip around right through the day. But Karun Nair stood tall. He batted at three, batted at six but No.5 brought luck for him. 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 said Karun Nair's career was anything but over with the kind of knock he played on tough conditions on Thursday. "Well played Karun Nair. That's a high-quality fifty in real tough conditions. Karun Nair's career is well and truly back. If he hadn't played this Test then the team management could well have looked beyond him," Karthik said on commentary. Former India fast bowler Varun Aaron was mighty impressed with the way Karun kept soft hands while playing at deliveries outside the off stump. His habit of hanging the bat outside the off stump had brought about his downfall multiple times in the series but not on Day 1 of the series-finale. "This could have been his last chance, but he has capitalised. The pitch was doing a lot, but Karun Nair is standing tall. What stood out was Karun Nair's purposeful attempt to have soft hands to deliveries outside off stump," Aaron said on JioHostar after the day's play.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Karun fifty shores up India at gloomy Oval
Kolkata: Four Tests down the line, England finally seemed English at the most unlikely of venues. The pitch had a generous smattering of grass, the skies over the Oval were intimidatingly grey, the outfield was damp and heavy because of passing showers, and the ball was nipping and occasionally climbing as a result. Karun Nair plays a shot during the first day of the fifth Test at The Oval on Thursday. (PTI) Perfect conditions to bowl but such has been Shubman Gill's rotten luck with the toss, he lost the fifth time in a row and India were put into bat. Against an England side without Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer, the visitors were made to toil on a rain-truncated day before Karun Nair put his foot down with a gritty fifty and help India end the first day on 204/6. Thirty of those runs came by way of extras on a day England's fast bowlers were wayward and also found it difficult to control the wet Dukes ball. But when they had a grip of the ball and the conditions, India suffered. The 45-run partnership between Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan offered a brief respite before the India captain needlessly ran himself out. And just when things were looking to improve in the third session, Dhruv Jurel fished at a Gus Atkinson delivery to be snapped up in the slip cordon. Nair however played a grinding knock, showing exemplary resilience in the face of challenging conditions with Washington Sundar for company. His glances were impactful, as were the full throttle drives as Nair slowly shifted gears to score his first fifty in this series. In fact, it was his first fifty since the 303* against England at Chennai in 2016. Of the entire day, Nair's innings was the only positive for India. Sudharsan made 38 but it wasn't exactly well-compiled. Even the four that got India's innings to hundred was scratchy — Sudharsan edging Jamie Overton and watching the ball pierce the gap between third slip and gully. His luck ran out eventually when Josh Tongue — who was spraying the ball all day — squared him up with a delivery that angled in to pitch short of length and straightened enough to take the outside edge. Four overs later, India were five down when Tongue again got the ball to angle in from round the wicket and nip away to get the edge off Ravindra Jadeja's bat. Both were great, almost unplayable, deliveries. But the three wickets to fall before those were because of bad decisions, concentration lapses and poor judgement. Having been handed the raw end of the deal in terms of unfavourable conditions, the onus was on India's openers to weather out the opening hour. They managed 15 overs. His boisterous start to the series feels like a lifetime ago with Yashasvi Jaiswal struggling inelegantly. The first five balls from Chris Woakes were dealt with adequately, but the moment the good length was hit, Jaiswal was drawn into a defensive prod. The first leave against Gus Atkinson was tight and so the pacer went straighter. This time, Jaiswal's feet didn't move and neither did the bat come down quickly enough as the ball struck him just below the knee-roll. Two sounds made the umpire give Jaiswal the benefit of doubt but Ollie Pope reviewed to find a big gap between bat and pad, HawkEye returning all-three reds on the call. This is the fourth time Jaiswal has been dismissed on 10 or less, and for the seventh time in nine innings he has been dismissed by a pacer bowling around the wicket. Dismissing KL Rahul is perceptively a more onerous task. Judging the ball better than Jaiswal, Rahul was once again intent on playing the ball as late as possible. Tucking away Woakes for an early boundary, blocking the ball with the full face of the bat, leaving the deliveries that were in the more adventurous channels, Rahul looked set to play the patient game. But England slowly started tightening the lines around him. Tongue made him play and miss, before making the ball nip in so much that Rahul could have been bowled after shouldering arms. These were the first signs of breach in Rahul's off-side game, and pretty soon Woakes cramped him for room with a back of length delivery that he tried to cut. The bounce was high, the ball got too close, and Rahul as a result chopped it on to his stumps. In came Gill, straightaway showing glimpses of the form that set him up to eclipse Sunil Gavaskar's record of most runs in a series by an Indian skipper. He punched Overton through covers for two fours before pulling him through square-leg for another boundary. Another flourishing cover drive made Gill look imperious in challenging conditions, till his impatience became his undoing just after he surpassed the Gavaskar record. Pushing Atkinson towards short cover, Gill set off for a single that was never on. Sudharsan rightly sent him back but by then Atkinson had swooped on the ball to steal enough time to knock down the stumps.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Sport
- Time of India
IND vs ENG 5th Test: First in 3,148 days! Karun Nair slams gritty fifty to lead India at The Oval
Karun Nair celebrates reaching his half century during Day One of the 5th Test Match vs England at The Oval (Photo by) Karun Nair made the most of his opportunity in the fifth and final Test at The Oval, scoring a vital half-century under pressure to keep India afloat after a shaky start. Returning to the playing XI after being dropped for the fourth Test in Manchester, Nair showed grit and calm in challenging conditions. India were in trouble at 83/3 when Nair walked in, and the team needed someone to steady the innings. The 33-year-old did just that, reaching his fifty in 89 balls with a clip off the pads for two runs off Jacob Bethell. It was a quiet celebration, with a raise of the bat towards the dressing room, acknowledging an important knock not just for the match, but for his own career. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! This was Nair's second-highest Test score, only behind his iconic unbeaten 303 against England in Chennai back in 2016. That triple century had set high expectations, but this latest knock was his first Test fifty in nearly nine years. To be exact, it was his first fifty in 3,148 days to put things into context. This in itself is a milestone that may revive his red-ball journey. Sitanshu Kotak press conference: Inside details of Gautam Gambhir fight, India Playing XI, Bumrah At stumps on Day 1, Nair stood at 52 unbeaten and was part of a 51-run partnership with Washington Sundar, taking India to 204/6. With the series on the line and India trailing 2-1, Nair's effort was a timely reminder of his potential and perseverance. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Live Comfortably: 60m2 prefabricated bungalow for the elderly in Z.i. Pre Fabricated Homes | Search Ads Search Now Undo Poll How impressed are you with Karun Nair's performance in the fifth Test at The Oval? Very Impressed Somewhat Impressed It's too late With the painful wicket of captain Shubman Gill from a run out to both Sai Sudharsan and Raivndra Jadeja dismissed by two unplayable Josh Tongue balls, India were in trouble. The visitors have Karun Nair and Washington Sundar to thank for crossing the 200-run mark at the end of day's play. For real-time updates, scores, and highlights, follow our live coverage of the India vs England Test match here. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
NDTV
2 hours ago
- Sport
- NDTV
Father Of Ignored Star, India Team Member vs England, Blasts BCCI Selectors: "They Gave Chance To Karun Nair"
The fifth and final India vs England Test has started. Players like Anshul Kamboj, Sai Sudharshan made their Test debut in the series while Karun Nair made a comeback to the India XI after a long gap. However, some players have been warming the bench throughout the series like Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhimanyu Easwaran. Among the three, Easwaran has been part of several India squads but is yet to make his Test debut. He got his maiden call-up in India squad in 2022 but after that 15 players made their test debut but not Easwaran. His father Ranganathan Easwaran is angry over the treatment meted out to his son. "I'm not keeping a count of the number of days that Abhimanyu has been waiting for his Test debut. I am counting the years; it has been three years now. What is the job of a player? It is to score runs. He has done that. People said he didn't perform in two India A matches during the last tour of Australia and didn't get into the team, which is fair enough. But Karun Nair wasn't in the team during the period when Abhimanyu performed before the BGT. Karun wasn't picked for the Duleep Trophy or the Irani Trophy. Abhimanyu scored close to 864 runs if you consider the period from last year to the current year," Abhimanyu's father Ranganathan Easwaran told TOI. "Then how do they compare? I don't understand. They gave a chance to Karun Nair. Fair enough, he scored 800-plus runs. The selectors have put faith in him." Abhimanyu Easwaran will be another domestic player who will never make his International debut. — Aditya Saha (@Adityakrsaha) July 31, 2025 Ranganthan went on to say that his son looks depressed. "My son looks a little depressed, but that is bound to happen. Some players jump the gun based on IPL performances which earn them a spot in the Test team. IPL performances should not be counted while selecting the team for the longest format. Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy, and Irani Trophy should be the basis for Test selection," he said. Abhimanyu Easwaran, 29, has played 103 first-class matches, scoring 7841 runs at an average of 48.70. He has 27 centuries and 31 fifties.
