A stunning catch in the air at short cover by Ollie Pope spoiled Karun Nair’s Test comeback for India after eight long years on Day 2 of the ongoing first Test at Headingly in Leeds on Saturday. The last time Nair played a Test match for India was way back in 2017 against Australia.
Nair‘s return to the Test squad was a reward for his consistent performances in domestic cricket over the past few years. With Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retiring from Tests, it created a pathway for the Vidarbha batter to be included in the tour of England.
However, his stay at in the middle was cut short by England captain Ben Stokes. Against a full outswinger wide of off-stump, Nair went for half-hearted drive only to see Pope diving full length to his left to grab a stunning overhead catch with huis both hands. Just like debutant Sai Sudharsan, Nair also went back for a four-ball duck.
Prior to the first Test, Nair had smashed a double hundred for India A against England Lions in the first unofficial Test. He had scored 204.
Rishabh Pant shines India dominate on Day 2
Earlier, Rishabh Pant hit a 178-ball 134 but India lost four wickets in quick succession to reach 454/7 at lunch on the second day. Pant brought up his seventh Test ton and hit an overall 12 fours and six sixes to dazzle with the bat, while putting on a robust 209-run stand for the fourth wicket with skipper Shubman Gill.
Gill fell for 147 (227 balls, 19x4s, 1×6) for the first wicket of the day for England and Shoaib Bashir, while Karun Nair was caught without scoring. Stokes then had Shardul Thakur (1) caught behind at the stroke of lunch for his fourth wicket. India had resumed the day at 359/3.
