Karnataka's veteran batter Karun Nair ran riot with the bat and clobbered yet another century in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2025-2026. The 33-year-old followed up his impressive unbeaten 174 against Goa in the previous round with a masterful ton in the Group B clash against Kerala in Trivandrum. This was Nair's 26th First-Class century. Nair displayed excellent form, reaching the three-figure mark in 161 deliveries, a knock that featured 10 fours and two sixes.
Karun Nair pummels another century in Ranji Trophy 2025-2026
Nair's century came ahead of the Test series against South Africa, which is set to start from November 14. However, he wasn't included in India's Test squad against West Indies, which they won 2-0, but this ton will certainly serve as a reminder for the BCCI selectors for the upcoming series.
Nair's consistent performance this season also includes a half-century scored earlier in the tournament against Saurashtra. Furthermore, with this monumental knock, Nair also completed 9,000 runs in First-Class cricket. By crossing the 9,000-run threshold, Nair becomes only the sixth Karnataka batter to achieve this feat. He now stands alongside cricketing legends and stalwarts such as Rahul Dravid, G. Vishwanath, Brijesh Patel, Syed Kirmani, and Robin Uthappa. The 33-year-old batter's career highlights also include being part of the Indian Test team earlier this year during the five-match series against England, where he contributed 205 runs across eight innings.
Nair, currently back with his home association, reached his century in the post-Tea session. At the time this was reported, he remained unbeaten on 101 runs from 163 deliveries. His steady performance helped anchor the Karnataka innings, bringing their total to 238 for the loss of three wickets after 64 overs.
The innings began on a challenging note for the visiting Karnataka side, as Kerala's bowlers made a brilliant start by quickly removing openers Mayank Agarwal (5) and Aneesh K V (8), leaving the team struggling at 13/2. However, Karun Nair and K L Shrijith mounted a formidable recovery, forging a crucial 123-run partnership to stabilize the innings. Although Shrijith was eventually dismissed for a solid 65 by Baba Aparajith, Karun continued his resilience by establishing yet another quality partnership with Smaran R, who himself reached his half-century shortly after the Tea break.
Notably, Karun had represented Vidarbha in the previous season and was a pivotal player in the Ranji Trophy final against Kerala. His significant contributions were an untimely 86 in the first innings, which secured a decisive lead for Vidarbha, and a superb 135 in the second innings that ultimately dashed Kerala's hopes of winning the Ranji Trophy title. In the current season, Kerala has struggled for momentum, only managing two points from their first two rounds after conceding the first-innings lead in drawn fixtures against both Maharashtra and Punjab.