Century in the final is more special, says Karun

Karun Nair on Monday said it was extremely special for him to make a hundred in the Ranji Trophy final.

“I think everyone dreams of a hundred, and to get it in the Ranji final makes it even more special. Like I said, I have been looking forward to this kind of opportunity and I’ll just try and make it as big as possible,” Karun told reporters.

“I think this is the best and most special because it has come in a Ranji final and I hadn’t got any hundreds in this season. I was really looking forward to and hoping that I get one, so this is the most special,” he added.

It would have been an immensely satisfying effort for him as the hundred came at the end of a poor season in which he had managed just one fifty. “I’ve been working hard so I was looking forward to such an opportunity. I think I was getting a lot of 30’s and I was getting out on one wrong ball. So, a good feeling to get there,” he said.

Last year Karun had made three hundreds in a row against Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, the last two being in the quarters and semis. It was a season big on runs for Karun. So, has he felt any pressure after going through an extended lean patch?  “I think the last few hundreds I’ve got have all been in pressure situations. I was just telling myself that this is just the opportunity that I needed, and to go out and score and do well for the team,” he noted.

Karun also had to bat with an injured KL Rahul, and the middle-order batsman explained their strategy. “We had discussed earlier that we would not run unless the ball was near the boundary. And we managed it well,” he said.

Karun ran three runs to get his hundred, and almost cheekily he described how he goaded Rahul to run three. “I shouted at him that he has to run three.”

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu’s Baba Indrajith conceded that things didn't go as per plan for his team and said Karnataka batted well.

“Today our plan was to take wickets in the morning. We must give credit to their batsmen, they played well.”