[Watch] Karun Nair does Virat Kohli-style celebration after 50, bat-drop and shush gesture after 40-ball 100 in Maharaja Trophy 2023
Mysore Warriors captain Karun Nair's bat not only talked but roared on Monday as he smashed a rollicking 40-ball century against the Gulbarga Mystics in the second semi-final of the 2023 Maharaja Trophy.
The right-hander, who was the top run-scorer in the tournament even before the century, was at 30 off 20 balls at one stage. He showed some unbelievable shots to reach his 50 in the next five deliveries and brought out the "bat is talking" celebration similar to Virat Kohli's after his ton against Australia in Perth in 2019.
He only got better, smashing short balls down the ground and sweeping pacers over square leg, everything with magnificent timing to hit 50 more in the next 15 deliveries. He reached 101 with a top-edge that went for a boundary over the 'keeper and did a bat-drop celebration followed by a shushing gesture.
You can watch the highlights of the knock here:
The knock came just hours after his announcement to leave the Karnataka State Cricket Association to join Vidarbha after not being in consideration for the state teams for some time.
"Loved it out there" - Karun Nair
Nair's run-spree (107 off 42) took the Warriors to a record-shattering total of 248/2 after 20 overs. Tellingly, when he came to bat, opener Ravikumar Samarth was at 47 (33) and played just 17 more deliveries to reach his 80 by the end of the innings. The Mystics put up a fight but fell 36 runs short of the target.
"Loved it out there, came out and contributed to team's win, one more game to go and one more innings to go," Nair said in the post-match presentation. "Throughout the tournament, we got good wickets, really happy with how it went out and looking forward for tomorrow."
The Warriors will now meet the Hubli Tigers, who also won the first semi-final convincingly, in the final on Tuesday, August 29.