<p>Karun 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.<br /><br /></p>.<p>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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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. <br /><br />By his own admission, Karun had not batted for a whole day in any format of the match, in any grade of cricket.<br /><br /> “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.<br /><br />Karun batted for 815 minutes, consuming 533 balls in a show of immense concentration, skill and endurance. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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.</p>
<p>Karun 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.<br /><br /></p>.<p>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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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. <br /><br />By his own admission, Karun had not batted for a whole day in any format of the match, in any grade of cricket.<br /><br /> “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.<br /><br />Karun batted for 815 minutes, consuming 533 balls in a show of immense concentration, skill and endurance. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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.</p>
