'I just played normal cricket'
Chennai, Dec 20, 2016, DHNS
“Make hay when the sun shines”, proclaimed Karun Nair when asked about the “lives” he received from the English fielders en route to his unbeaten 303. He might as well be speaking of his situation in the Indian squad.
Drafted for the Mohali Test in place of his injured State-mate KL Rahul, Nair made a four-ball four before being run-out. He got to play the next Test in Mumbai as Ajinkya Rahane got injured in the ‘nets’ even as Rahul made his comeback. This time Nair was out lbw after making 13 following a review by England.
Chennai was perhaps his last chance to leave an impression on the selectors and the team management. But having made a triple ton, Nair has left skipper Virat Kohli and head coach Anil Kumble with a massive selection headache.
“I wasn't thinking much about it,” he said if he broke England’s spirits. “We are 3-0 up (in the series), so I think they know they are already out of the game. So I think I don't know how they are feeling right now. I'm just happy that I got the runs… I just got in and made the most of it. (There was) no extra pressure (coming into this match). There is always pressure in every game. I got run out in the first game and didn't get many runs in the second game but there was no extra pressure that I put on myself,” he offered.
Nair said until he got into his 280s, scoring a treble didn’t occur to him. “I think it never took place in my mind,” he began. “Once I crossed 250, the team management had certain plans of going after the bowling and declaring. So then, I think, within the space of five overs I got to 280-285, that's when I started thinking. Jaddu (Jadeja) also kept egging me on not to throw it away and get to 300 easily.”
Nair used the sweep, reverse sweep and upper cut which are generously used in shorter versions. Nair, who plays all three formats, mixed his shorter-format batting skills with the longer version approach to good effect.
“I think it's just playing normally,” he said about playing different formats and finding success in each of them. “I think after 100, the pressure is off. You just go out there and play the shots that you can and you just look to hit the gaps. Once you cross 150, it is just playing freely like how you always do and just expressing yourself.
“My game doesn't change much. It's just the mental approach that changes. In Test matches, obviously you have a lot more time to get settled and play big. I think the approach doesn't change at all. I don't play any different shots in any other format. I just play the same way,” he explained.
Nair made his first-class debut in a Ranji game against Punjab at Hubballi in December 2013 and he scored 21 on debut. While that outing may have been modest, he has been a prolific performer since then, amassing 2862 runs in 39 first-class games. His best score is a 328 in the Ranji Trophy final versus Tamil Nadu in the 2014-15 season. The previous season, he scored a hundred each in the quarterfinal and semifinal of the Ranji Trophy.
Drafted for the Mohali Test in place of his injured State-mate KL Rahul, Nair made a four-ball four before being run-out. He got to play the next Test in Mumbai as Ajinkya Rahane got injured in the ‘nets’ even as Rahul made his comeback. This time Nair was out lbw after making 13 following a review by England.
Chennai was perhaps his last chance to leave an impression on the selectors and the team management. But having made a triple ton, Nair has left skipper Virat Kohli and head coach Anil Kumble with a massive selection headache.
“I wasn't thinking much about it,” he said if he broke England’s spirits. “We are 3-0 up (in the series), so I think they know they are already out of the game. So I think I don't know how they are feeling right now. I'm just happy that I got the runs… I just got in and made the most of it. (There was) no extra pressure (coming into this match). There is always pressure in every game. I got run out in the first game and didn't get many runs in the second game but there was no extra pressure that I put on myself,” he offered.
Nair said until he got into his 280s, scoring a treble didn’t occur to him. “I think it never took place in my mind,” he began. “Once I crossed 250, the team management had certain plans of going after the bowling and declaring. So then, I think, within the space of five overs I got to 280-285, that's when I started thinking. Jaddu (Jadeja) also kept egging me on not to throw it away and get to 300 easily.”
Nair used the sweep, reverse sweep and upper cut which are generously used in shorter versions. Nair, who plays all three formats, mixed his shorter-format batting skills with the longer version approach to good effect.
“I think it's just playing normally,” he said about playing different formats and finding success in each of them. “I think after 100, the pressure is off. You just go out there and play the shots that you can and you just look to hit the gaps. Once you cross 150, it is just playing freely like how you always do and just expressing yourself.
“My game doesn't change much. It's just the mental approach that changes. In Test matches, obviously you have a lot more time to get settled and play big. I think the approach doesn't change at all. I don't play any different shots in any other format. I just play the same way,” he explained.
Nair made his first-class debut in a Ranji game against Punjab at Hubballi in December 2013 and he scored 21 on debut. While that outing may have been modest, he has been a prolific performer since then, amassing 2862 runs in 39 first-class games. His best score is a 328 in the Ranji Trophy final versus Tamil Nadu in the 2014-15 season. The previous season, he scored a hundred each in the quarterfinal and semifinal of the Ranji Trophy.
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