Karun Nair joined an elite club of batsmen whose first Test tons were triple-hundreds IANS
Karun Nair joined an elite club of batsmen whose first Test tons were triple-hundreds IANS

Karun Nair slammed an unbeaten 303 against England in the ongoing fifth and final Test at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai. Nair joined an elite club of batsmen whose first Test tons were triple-hundreds. Garry Sobers and Bobby Simpson are the only ones to have done this before Nair. Sobers unbeaten 365 had stood as the world record for the highest Test score for over three-and-a-half decades, while Simpson s massive innings came in a yawnathon during the 1964 Ashes. Drafted in as replacement for the injured Ajinkya Rahane, Nair was playing his third Test. He had been run out for 4 on debut at Mohali, while his second innings, at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, had ended on 13. Nair, refusing to get dismissed cheaply for the third time on the trot, converted his first proper start to a triple-hundred.

Cricketers whose first Test hundreds were triple-hundreds

Player

Runs

Team

Against

Venue

Season

Garry Sobers

365*

West Indies

Pakistan

Sabina Park

1957-58

Bobby Simpson

311

Australia

England

Old Trafford

1964

Karun Nair

303*

India

England

Chepauk

2016-17

FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: India vs England, 5th Test at Chennai

However, unlike Sobers and Simpson, Nair had not scored a fifty before his triple-hundred. Nair thus became the first cricketer in history to convert his maiden fifty to a treble. Sobers had 6 fifties (highest score of 80) while Simpson had 15 (highest 92) by the time they reached their respective landmarks. Nair s innings came at astonishing pace as well: he faced a mere 381 balls, which gave him a strike rate of 79.5; and he hit 32 fours and 4 sixes. He was involved in three massive partnerships 161 with KL Rahul for the fourth wicket, 181 with Ravichandran Ashwin for the sixth, and 138 with Ravindra Jadeja for the seventh.