New Delhi, April 14 (IANS) Think of those frightening and desperate times when you prayed to the Almighty and manifested for a second chance in continuing to do something that you truly love in life. Think of the moment when that second chance finally arrives, and it becomes your responsibility to make the most of it.
Something similar happened in case of Karun Nair – one of the members of a rare club of hitting a triple century in Tests. But on December 10, 2022, with his fingers crossed, Nair wrote, “Dear cricket, give me one more chance.” It was a time when Nair was out of Karnataka team across all formats and the sight of breaking into the Indian team again was far away.
The thing with social media nowadays is, when an athlete performs well after grabbing a long-standing chance, the posts made in their desperate times, where light at the end of the tunnel wasn’t visible, immediately come back into the picture. When Nair lit up Arun Jaitley Stadium by striking a 40-ball 89 against Mumbai Indians on Sunday, it was clearly understandable that his old desperate tweet made headlines again.
Playing his first IPL game after nearly three years, Nair announced his return to IPL with a breathtaking half-century coming after 2520 days, especially after being introduced as an impact player and when DC’s chase of 206 was 0/1. In front of him were Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah, who all came under hammering from Nair’s breathtaking assault.
“Look, obviously, we lost an important player in Faf, and we always knew – the few of us batters who are sitting outside who should be and have to be ready at any given time. So, mentally, I was ready, and obviously looking forward to the chance, whenever it came.”
“I felt confident. I felt like I’m well-prepared to play in the IPL if given the opportunity, so it was all about me preparing the way that I have been all through the season, and waiting for my chance.”
“I was doing my bit to prepare and be ready for the game, and then it’s always a tough call for the team management to pick 11 or 12 players. I’ve always respected that, and for me it’s about preparing and keeping the same process that I’ve followed, which has worked for me, and just being ready to go out there and perform for the team,” said Nair in the post-match press conference.
Nair’s stunning attack on Bumrah, arguably the best bowler in the cricketing world, was the best illustration of his readiness. Despite playing just the second game on his return to the game and still being some time away from being at his peak best, Bumrah remains a major threat to most batters – except for Nair on a warm Sunday evening.
Nair’s onslaught on Bumrah began with him lofting over cover for four, before slashing him between cover and point for another boundary. The real treat came out in the final over of the powerplay as Nair was quick to get into position and whip Bumrah effortlessly over deep backward square leg, where the longer square boundary was and also earned an applause from Hardik Pandya.
On the third ball, Bumrah couldn’t nail his yorker and Nair made the most of it by slicing through the backward point fence for four more. But the standout shot was Nair lofting inside-out against a slower delivery from Bumrah for six over extra cover. By the time powerplay was over, Nair reached his fifty off 22 balls and Bumrah’s figures read as 0-29 in two overs.
“Obviously, I was confident and I was in the flow and I didn’t want to stop the flow. It was about picking the right balls and playing to the areas that I wanted to play. He is the best bowler at the moment in world cricket. So, I had to be very watchful of where he is going to bowl. But again, I just backed myself and backed the areas that I wanted to score.
“Quite honestly, I had the confidence that I’ve played before and I know how it’s going to be, and it’s nothing different, and I’m not going to be facing anything new. But in my mind it was just about going out there and giving myself a few balls and just getting used to the speed of the game and the atmosphere.
“I just told myself, give yourself time, play normal shots, and then improvise when needed, and fortunately everything came off and I am happy that I batted well. But again, like I said, I would have loved that if the team had gone through and won the game,” added Nair on his plan of countering Bumrah.
On Sunday, Nair’s impressive performance against MI’s bowlers would convince the DC think-tank that they are better off having him in the top-order. That seems possible considering Jake Fraser-McGurk is enduring a lean run, while Faf du Plessis has been in and out due to injuries.
Moreover, till December 2022, Nair’s strike-rate was at 131.15 in T20s. But from January 2023, when his resurgence period began, the strike-rate now stands at a healthy 171.87. “I don’t think my strike rate has ever been low. It’s always been high, but yes, I can agree that it’s a bit higher now. In the last two seasons, I’ve been batting well. I haven’t changed anything. But I’ve obviously worked hard to play the shots that I want to play and execute that well,” added Nair.
Amidst the fireworks Nair brought out, the Bengaluru-based batter still had one lament – of not making DC win. After he was outfoxed by a ripper from Mitchell Santner, DC crumbled like nine pins and crashed to an unexpected 12-run defeat, their first loss of this season.
“For me, it was important that the team wins, but that didn’t happen. There is no point in talking about my own game because I played well but could not finish. I am disappointed about that but I will learn from this match and improve on it in the next match.
“Obviously, it was easier for the set batters to play than for new batters. For me, it was very important for the set batters to be there. We lost the wickets in regular intervals so it was difficult for us in the end. Having said that, he bowled well and put us under pressure. Again, we can learn from this and improve on it. We will prepare well for the next match,” added Nair.
Back in December 2022, Nair publicly pleaded for ‘one more chance’ to thrive in cricket on X. But on Sunday evening, Nair’s resounding IPL comeback through a breathtaking fifty not only lit up the stadium but has also created a selection headache for DC.
The sheer power of Nair’s performance underlines that second chances, both in life and cricket, can be manifested, seized and leveraged to their full potential.
–IANS
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