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)
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Mamata Banerjee of stalling SIR; TMC hits back
Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.
The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.
Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.
She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.
"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.
The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.
Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.
Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.
She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.
She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.
Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.
Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.
"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.
Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.
Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.
"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.
Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.
Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.
She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.
The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.
Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.
Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."
"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.
"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.
