Karun Nair hits second Ranji Trophy Final century against Kerala in career-best season | Cricket News
Vidarbha batter Karun Nair continued his purple patch in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 final as he backed up his first-innings 86 with his 23rd First-Class century against Kerala at the VCA Stadium in Jamtha, Nagpur on Saturday.
Batting in the second innings on day four of the contest, after Vidarbha earned a 37-run first-innings, lead the previous evening, Nair walked in at number four after Kerala removed the openers within the first 14 deliveries. Building another fortifying partnership with Danish Malewar with whom he shared a match-defining 215-run stand in the previous innings, Nair denied Kerala the chance of a comeback with his stroke-filled hundred off 184 balls.
The century was the second hundred for Nair in a Ranji Trophy final across four appearances since his debut season in the tournament for Karnataka in 2013-14. In the previous innings, Nair also went past 8000 FC runs in his 152nd appearance. The right-handed batter has also tallied 800-plus runs for the first time in a Ranji Trophy season.
The 33-year-old Nair who returned to the spotlight after a whirlwind Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign last month, finishing with 752 runs and five hundreds in seven innings, was also among the runs in the second phase of the Ranji Trophy. Nair smashed a hundred in Vidarbha’s last league game against Hyderabad and backed it up with his 22nd First Class century in the quarterfinal victory over Tamil Nadu.
Nair played the final in his maiden First-Class season in 2013-14 as Karnataka beat Maharashtra to claim the title. In the following season, Nair emerged as the Player of the Match in the summit clash as he cracked a marathon 328 – the highest individual score ever in a Ranji Trophy final – against Tamil Nadu as Karnataka defended their title.
While over 3700 runs of Nair’s career has come for Karnataka, his brief India Test career between 2016-17 also saw him become the second Test triple-centurion of the country behind Virender Sehwag, cracking an unbeaten 303 against England in Chennai.
Karun Nair in Ranji Trophy finals:
2013/14: 44, 20*
2014/15: 328 (best by any batter)
2023/24: 0, 74
2024/25: 86, 100* (batting)
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