Karun Nair scored a century against the England Lions in the first unofficial Test. The Indian cricket team is set to travel to England next month for a five-match Test series. Ahead of this, India A—which includes several players from the main team—is facing off against the England Lions in two unofficial Tests. The first match began on Friday, May 30, at the St Lawrence Ground in Canterbury.
England Lions captain James Rew won the toss and chose to bowl first. India lost their openers, Yashasvi Jaiswal (24) and Abhimanyu Easwaran (8), cheaply in the first innings. However, Karun Nair, batting at number three, played a brilliant innings, scoring a century on Day 1 and making a strong comeback to the Indian setup.
This was Karun Nair 24th century in First-Class cricket, helping India surpass 300 runs. Notably, Karun Nair is also part of India’s squad for the upcoming Test series against England, so his excellent form on English soil is a big boost for the team led by Shubman Gill.
Karun Nair made comeback to the test team after eight years
He last represented India in a Test series against Australia in March 2017. His impressive performances in domestic cricket earned him a return to the Test side. Karun Nair will begin this new chapter under the leadership of the newly appointed Test captain, Shubman Gill. On May 24, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named Gill as the captain for the upcoming Test series against England. Rishabh Pant has been appointed as the vice-captain.
The series will kick off with the first Test on June 20 at Headingley, Leeds. The fifth and final Test is scheduled from July 31 to August 4 at The Oval, London.
Following the ongoing match between India A and England Lions, both teams will move to Northampton for the second game, starting on June 6 at the County Ground. Abhimanyu Easwaran will lead the Indian A team as captain.
