Batting legend Sachin Tendulkar on Friday hailed Vidarbha captain Karun Nair’s incredible run of form in the Vijay Hazare Trophy after leading his team to their first-ever final in the tournament on Thursday.
The former Karnataka batter who last represented India in a Test in 2017 has been on an unprecedented run of form in the domestic 50-over tournament, aggregating 752 runs with five centuries and a fifty in seven outings while averaging a staggering 752 with one dismissal. Nair’s superb haul is already the third-best performance ever in a Vijay Hazare Trophy season and he can climb to the top with another superlative performace in the final against his former side Karnataka on Saturday.
Scoring 752 runs in 7 innings with 5 centuries is nothing short of extraordinary, @karun126. Performances like these don’t just happen, they come from immense focus and hard work. Keep going strong and make every opportunity count!
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) January 17, 2025
Having cracked a heap of records already, Nair is understood to have returned to the national selectors’ radar for the longer formats. Tendulkar lauded Nair’s commitment and grind.
“Scoring 752 runs in 7 innings with 5 centuries is nothing short of extraordinary, @karun126. Performances like these don’t just happen, they come from immense focus and hard work. Keep going strong and make every opportunity count!” Tendulkar wrote on X.
Nair plundered a heap of records after going on a sensational streak of 542 runs in the tournament without being dismissed, setting a new List A world record for most runs between two dismissals by a batter. Nair also surpassed Ruturaj Gaikwad’s record for most runs by a captain in a VHT season. Smashing a sensational 88 not out off 44 balls on Thursday against Maharashtra in the semi-final, Nair fell only 12 short of becoming the second batter to record five consecutive centuries in List A 50-over cricket after Tamil Nadu’s Jagadeesan. The duo remain the only two batters to pile up five centuries in a Vijay Hazare Trophy season.
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