Karun Nair scores second Ranji Trophy final century against Kerala in career-best season
Nagpur: Vidarbha batsman Karun Nair continued his impressive form in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 final, scoring his second century in a Ranji Trophy final against Kerala at the VCA Stadium in Jamtha, Nagpur, on Saturday.
Batting in the second innings on day four, Nair came in at number four after Kerala dismissed Vidarbha’s openers in the first 14 deliveries. Vidarbha had taken a 37-run lead in the first innings the previous night. Nair built a strong partnership with Danish Malewar, with whom he had shared a crucial 215-run stand in the first innings. His century, scored off 184 balls, prevented Kerala from staging a comeback.
This was Nair’s second century in a Ranji Trophy final, having previously achieved the feat in the 2014-15 season. He also surpassed 8,000 First-Class runs in this match.
For the first time in his Ranji Trophy career, the right-handed batter has scored over 800 runs in a single season. Nair made a strong comeback following a busy Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign last month, where he scored 752 runs, including five centuries in seven innings.
In Vidarbha’s last league match against Hyderabad, Nair hit a century and followed it up with another in the quarterfinal win over Tamil Nadu.
Nair first played a Ranji Trophy final in 2013-14 when Karnataka defeated Maharashtra. The following season, he was named Player of the Match in the final after scoring a record-breaking 328 against Tamil Nadu, the highest individual score in a Ranji Trophy final.
While Nair has scored over 3,700 runs for Karnataka, he also had a brief Test career for India in 2016-17, during which he became the country’s second Test triple-centurion after Virender Sehwag, scoring an unbeaten 303 against England in Chennai.
Karun Nair’s Ranji Trophy final scores:
2013-14: 44, 20*
2014-15: 328 (highest individual score in a final)
2023-24: 0, 74
2024-25: 86, 100* (batting)
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Trump says he ‘hasn’t even thought about’ continuing Iran ceasefire
Washington: US President Donald Trump has said he has not yet considered whether he would continue the ceasefire involving Iran, while also claiming the United States holds the advantage in negotiations.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he was prepared to make a deal with “whoever is running the show” in Iran.
“They are fighting with each other, there’s tremendous infighting. They’re probably fighting for leadership in many cases. I think they’re fighting not to be leader because we knocked out two levels of leaders,” he said.
Trump added, “When they want they can call me. We have all the cards, we’ve won everything.”
Referring to ongoing negotiations, he said, “They gave us a paper that should’ve been better. And, interestingly, immediately when I cancelled it [envoy trip to Pakistan], within 10 minutes we got a new paper that was much better.”
“We talked about they will not have a nuclear weapon, very simple … They offered a lot, but not enough,” he added.
When asked whether he would continue the ceasefire, Trump replied, “I haven’t even thought about it.”
The remarks come as uncertainty remains over the future of the temporary truce and broader negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
