Karun Nair has fully taken to his heart the idiom ‘Make hay while the sun shines’ this season. Having smashed records during the Vijay Hazare Trophy, scoring five tons in nine games, the 33-year-old has seamlessly carried the form into First-Class cricket.
On Saturday, he scored his second Ranji Trophy century in as many games against Tamil Nadu and the third of the season to guide Vidarbha to a good position on day one of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal clash at the VCA ground here on Saturday.
At stumps, Vidarbha finished on 264 for six, with Karun unbeaten on 100 (180b, 14×4, 1×6). Electing to bat, the home team did not have the greatest of starts, losing two early wickets to the TN medium-pacers. Dhruv Shorey hit a few boundaries to get the scoreboard moving before he was caught and bowled by Vijay Shankar, who took a good catch diving forward to leave the host in a spot of bother at 44 for three.
Danish Malewar (75, 119b, 13×4) and Karun then steadied things, stitching a 98-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
AS IT HAPPENED | RANJI TROPHY 2024-25 QUARTERFINALS DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS
The 21-year-old Danish, playing in his maiden season, put the pressure back on the visitors, hitting Vijay Shankar for three fours in one over. He was compact through the leg side, whipping anything straight through the midwicket region.
Post lunch, the TN bowlers were guilty of being wavered, and both the batters punished them by finding the fence at will. Danish flicked Vijay Shankar through long-on to reach his half-century in style.
At the other end, Karun appeared solid, playing a chanceless knock and gave no inch to the visitor. The former Karnataka batter was imposing against the tweakers with his nimble footwork. He started by stepping down to loft Sai Kishore over long-off for a maximum. He later used the conventional sweep effectively against the two left-arm spinners (Sai Kishore and Ajith Ram). It was his most productive shot, accounting for five of his 14 boundaries as he brought up his 22nd First-Class hundred.
