JOIN USKarun Nair stood with his hands spread as the ball sped to the third man fence off a reverse sweep off Malolan Rangarajan on Tuesday at the Wankhede Stadium.
In that instant, he moved from 297 to 301, which made him the second triple centurion for Karnataka this season after K L Rahul’s 337 against Uttar Pradesh at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
From the match’s context, his unbeaten 310 and Rahul’s 188 powered Karnataka to a massive 618 for seven, for an overall lead of 484 runs, giving them a firm grip over Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy final. Tamil Nadu had made a subpar 134 all out in their first innings.
Karnataka owed that position of strength to the 23-year-old Karun, born in Jodhpur in Rajasthan, now a resident of Koramangala. His was the second highest score in a Ranji Trophy final, after Gul Mohammad’s 319 for Baroda against Holkar in 1946-47.
By his own admission, Karun had not batted for a whole day in any format of the match, in any grade of cricket.
“I don’t think that before this match, I had batted for a day. This was the first time I’ve batted so long. So, I was pretty happy about it. I think I started feeling tired at tea and after tea. I was just drinking a lot of water and stretching a bit,” said a chuffed Karun.
Karun batted for 815 minutes, consuming 533 balls in a show of immense concentration, skill and endurance.
The youngster also became a part of Karnataka’s rich cricketing history on this day, becoming the highest individual run-getter for the State in a Ranji Trophy final. He surpassed the legendary G R Viswanath, who had made 247 against Uttar Pradesh in 1977-78.
But the real reward for his effort will come in two days – a moment when the Karnataka team members will stand with that glittering silverware, which they grabbed last year, in their hands, sporting smiling faces.