India vs England 2016: Karun Nair's parents express joy, record message for their son
It was a historic day for Karun Nair as the young batsman scripted history by becoming the 2nd Indian player to breach the 300 run mark. The fourth day of the fifth Test against England at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai became a historic one for the Karnataka boy as he got to his maiden century in his third Test match for India.
What made the moment even more special was the fact that his parents were present in the stands as their son smashed England to all parts of the ground. After having got his century, Karun looked at ease and almost cantered to a triple century.
Watch: Parents react after Karun Nair scripts history
The innings was even more momentous as India stretched their lead to 282 runs. England openers survived the final 5 overs of the day, but they would know that the battle has only just started. The pitch is still a flat one and this should give England hope to hold on for the rest of the fifth day.
Also read: Twitter reacts as Karun Nair smashes records and scores a Triple century
A visibly chuffed Karun made it clear that this innings was one of his best, and that the presence of his parents in the stand did not put any undue pressure in him.
"Best knock I’ve played in my life. Many situations in the middle when I had to play differently, with Rahul, Ashwin and Jaddu. I have to thank them for supporting me, egging me on. The first hundred is always important and I think when I got the first hundred, I didn't feel any pressure. I was just playing my shots after that. Sweep comes naturally to me, I've worked on it a lot, it's my go-to shot and it just came off today. [Family sitting in the stands] My dad watches most of my games. No extra pressure on me. I'd like to thank them for coming over. I think they should be proud of me. I didn't know how to swim. People there rescued me and I was lucky to live again [about the boat accident in his home in Kerala] The message was to attack in the third session. We had a set overs to declare on, but when I got closer to 300, they pushed it back. I'm thankful to the team management. [Did you tease Rahul for getting out on 199] Rahul is a good player. He'll get his 200 soon. The pitch is getting worse day by day. Hard for a new batsman. It's turning a bit right now, hope it turns more tomorrow,” Karun said after the day’s play.