Ranji Trophy 2025-26: Karnataka’s Karun Nair, Smaran frustrate Kerala on Day 1
A defensive Kerala, hedging on weak spinners, handed over the advantage to Karnataka on the first day of the Ranji Trophy match at the KCA stadium, Mangalapuram in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday.
Karun Nair’s 26th First-Class century (142 not out) and second consecutive one against the host saw Karnataka end the day at 319 for three. Karun and R. Smaran (88 not out) piled on the Kerala’s agony with an unbeaten 183-run stand for the fourth wicket.
A flat track and a non-threatening attack, bordering on friendly, were the perfect recipe for Karun to dig in and pile up a big score. The threat from Kerala’s bowling ended once the pitch lost its early zip. But M.D. Nidheesh and N.P. Basil nipped out openers Mayank Agarwal (5) and K.V. Aneesh (8) cheaply to have Karnataka in trouble at 13 for two.
However, Karun joined K.L. Shrijith in the middle to flip the script. The batters chose contrasting styles to blunt the Kerala attack. Karun was cheeky at start, paddle sweeping and reverse sweeping the spinners for boundaries while Shrijith played the conventional shots with conviction to reach his fifty before Lunch.
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However, the left-hander top-edged a sweep off Aparajith and was caught by Ahammed Imran at square leg, ending the 126-run third wicket stand.
After Lunch, Karun played the spinners with more fluency, bringing out the wide repertoire of his strokes. He slapped Aparajith through the covers for a boundary and lifted him over long-on for a six to change gears. Smaran punched Harikrishnan through the covers for his first boundary as the fourth-wicket stand prospered.
Karun hit Basil for consecutive boundaries to move into his 90s and soon completed his century. The batter then late cut Aparajith for a boundary to take Karnataka past 300. The day ended ominously for Kerala, just as it began, with Ankit Sharma pulling out due to a side strain. Rohan Kunnummal’s illness forced Kerala to tinker with the playing XI. Vysakh Chandran’s rustiness was glaring as Karnataka batters toyed with Kerala’s bowling.
Published on Nov 01, 2025
