Former Indian wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik criticized Karun Nair after the right-hander was dismissed after scoring 14 runs on the fourth day of the third Test match at Lord’s. Nair decided to shoulder arms to an incoming delivery against Brydon Carse, but he was hit on the back pad in front of the wickets.
Nair had scored 40 runs in the first innings and he hasn’t been able to convert his starts to a substantial score in the ongoing series. The 33-year-old has scored 131 runs in three Test matches against England in this series at an average of 21.83.
“Karun Nair’s going to limp off, what a breakthrough for England. Completely out of the blue, he was looking solid as always. The ball didn’t do much, just came in straight. I don’t know what he was thinking,” Karthik said while commentating.
“Karun Nair expected the ball to swing away probably, but it didn’t, just held its line, kept coming straight. Pretty ordinary leave, Brydon Carse loving it, it’s an important wicket,” Karthik added.
On the other hand, former English captain Michael Atherton said it was a very strange leave from Nair as Carse was getting the ball to move back into the right-hander.
“It’s a very strange leave from Karun Nair. Particularly at the end he’s batting, the end Carse is coming in from is the pavilion end, so you know naturally the ball is going to run back in at you, down the slope,” former England cricketer Michael Atherton said.
“To make matters worse, he’ll (Nair) have a big bruise there in the morning because it hit him on the inside of the pad, so he had to hobble off,” Atherton added.
Meanwhile, former Indian captain Anil Kumble said Yashasvi Jaiswal played a poor shot whereas it was a brain fade moment for Karun Nair. Jaiswal was dismissed when he attempted a pull shot against Jofra Archer but could only manage a top edge.
“India had a great chance; they did well to restrict England to 192. Yashasvi Jaiswal played a poor shot. Once Karun Nair got out, and then Shubman Gill, it was a slight advantage to England,” Kumble said while speaking on JioStar.
“It was a great opportunity for Karun; he did all the hard work. He did look good, I don’t know, probably it was a brain fade,” Kumble added.
India need 113 runs to win with five wickets remaining on the final day.
