Trisha Ghosal in London
There are moments in sport when the scoreboard barely tells the story. Karun Nair’s unbeaten 52 at the end of Day 1 at The Oval wasn’t just a number. It was a lifeline. A sigh of relief. A whispered thank you to a game that had made him wait, wander, and almost wither.
In December 2022, Karun Nair had put out a tweet asking cricket for another chance. It was simple, heartfelt, and vulnerable, not something athletes often show in public. That plea was answered, albeit in fragments. He got six chances before this game. And in them, he batted like a man walking a tightrope, never falling, but never quite finding the balance to run freely either. Thirties and forties came, but the signature stayed missing.
Till Lord’s, the Indian No. 3 slot remained a revolving door. Not one half-century. With Sai Sudharsan and Abhimanyu Easwaran waiting, it seemed Karun’s Test chapter was drawing to a close. He was dropped for the Old Trafford Test. And then, just when the lights seemed to dim on his red-ball dreams, cricket pulled him back in.
One final chance.
He was in the playing XI at The Kia Oval, a last minute call to extend India’s batting strength. Yesterday, as he walked in at 85/3 in tricky conditions, it felt like fate setting the scene. The ball was still moving, the air thick with tension. Karun batted like a man who had been here before, not just at the crease, but in the silence of self-doubt.
His footwork was crisp, his judgment precise, and his body language, for once, unbothered by the shadows behind. But then, as he reached 48, a few wild shots reminded everyone just how much was riding on this knock. It was Washington Sundar who steadied him with a quiet word. And Karun? He dug in.
When he finally reached fifty, the applause from the Kia Oval crowd felt louder than it should have been. Perhaps they, too, sensed what this moment meant. Not just to India, but to a man who had once made a triple hundred but never quite found a permanent home in the team.
His face said everything. Relief, yes. But also defiance. The kind that says, “I am still here.”
At 204/6, at the beginning of Day 2, India need more. They need Karun to stretch this knock into something bigger, something unforgettable. A century here wouldn’t just be about runs. It would be redemption.
Sport gives second chances, but only to those who dare to believe. Karun Nair believed. Yesterday, he reminded us all why cricket is not just a game — it’s a living, breathing storybook. And somewhere in its fragile pages, a new chapter might just be starting for a man who refused to stop writing.
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