Karun Nair hits century for Karnataka after first-innings failure in Ranji Trophy

Karun Nair’s hundred has kept Karnataka alive in the contest. | Photo Credit: K.V.S Giri

After managing just eight in the first innings, Karun Nair answered with a statement hundred, his 20th in Ranji Trophy, for Karnataka against Andhra in the Ranji Trophy in Vijayawada on Wednesday.

Karun was at his fluent best, taking on left-arm spinners Saurabh and Lalith Mohan with a pair of glorious sixes down the ground. It was a timely reminder of his class, coming after a modest first outing.

It has been an eventful few months for the 34-year-old. Overlooked for both the semifinal and final of the 2026 Duleep Trophy, Karun returned to Bengaluru and turned out for KSCA Secretary XI in the Thimmappiah Trophy, Karnataka’s traditional red-ball preparatory tournament ahead of the Ranji Trophy season.

His latest hundred comes as he looks to build on a remarkable return to the India Test side last year. Karun featured in the five-match series in England, which India drew 2-2, completing a comeback that had seemed unlikely only months earlier.

That recall was the reward for a prolific domestic season with his former team Vidarbha in 2024-25. Karun amassed 863 runs at an average of 53.93 in Vidarbha’s title-winning Ranji Trophy campaign. He had been equally dominant in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, scoring five centuries in eight innings at an extraordinary average of 389.50.

The runs had forced the selectors to take notice then. Against Andhra, Karun has offered another reminder that his appetite for them remains undiminished.