The middle order batter of the Vidarbha side, Karun Nair, on Friday (January 03) broke the world record for most List-A runs without being dismissed, as he guided the side to their eight-wicket victory over Uttar Pradesh during the ongoing domestic 50-over tournament, Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25.
Karun Nair was part of the 50-over format for the Indian side during the 2016 season against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club. In two innings, the right-handed batter smashed 46 runs at an average of 23 and a strike rate of 52.27. He was also part of six Tests for the national side, where he nailed 374 runs at an average of 62.33, with the best score of the famous unbeaten 303 runs against England in Chennai.
In the second last game of the event in Vishakhapatnam against Chandigarh, the batter smashed an unbeaten 163 runs, batting at the number three position, which helped the Vidarbha side to chase down a huge score of 316 runs with five wickets in hand and 12 balls to spare.
Karun Nair goes past James Franklin with unbeaten 542 runs
Karun Nair followed it up with another unbeaten 112-run knock at the same ground against Tamil Nadu, where the team chased down 257 runs with six wickets in hand and over six overs to spare. The former Karnataka player enjoyed his third consecutive century in the tournament against Uttar Pradesh as they chased down 313 runs with eight wickets in hand and 16 deliveries to spare.
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Karun Nair has now been part of 103 List-A games where he has sacked 7637 runs at an average of 48.64 and a strike rate of more than 52, on the back of seven centuries and 13 half-centuries at the best score of unbeaten 163.
The right-handed batter now has set a world record of 542 runs without being dismissed, going past the former New Zealand all-rounder James Franklin, who in 2010 had managed a streak of 527 runs without getting out in the format. The few other members on the list are Joshua van Heerden (512), Fakhar Zaman (455), and Taufeeq Umar (422).
Karun Nair is now the leading run-getter of the season with 542 runs in five innings at an average of 542 because of getting dismissed once and at a strike rate of 115.08 with the help of four centuries. The next best in the list is his former partner of the Karnataka side, opening batter Mayank Agarwal, who has notched up 497 runs in six innings at an average of 124.25 and a strike rate of 115.58, shouldering on three centuries and one half-century.
The purple patch of the batter has started the speculation if he could be getting a look in the national side for their upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to take place in the third week of February, where they would play all of their games in the United Arab Emirates at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
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Karun Nair has been in supreme touch, but the only question is if there is enough gap in the side in the middle order. Both Virat Kohli and KL Rahul did well in the past, while Shreyas Iyer should be in the side on the back of his 312 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 138.66 with the help of a couple of centuries already.
Whatever happens, for now, the batter will aim to extend the perfect form and score more runs for Vidarbha to carry them forward in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) 2024-25.