Sanjay Bangar hails Karun Nair’s knock, says he knew this could well be his last opportunity

Former Indian all-rounder Sanjay Bangar showered praise on Karun Nair after he scored a gutsy knock on the opening day of the fifth Test match against England at the Kennington Oval, London. Nair scored a crucial knock of 52* to help India end the opening day’s play at 204-6.

The right-hander played with a cautious approach and batted at the top of his game. Bangar reckons Nair was driven by the fact that this could well be his last opportunity to prove his mettle at the top level.

Nair had managed only 131 runs in the first three Test matches against England at an average of 21.83.

Sanjay Bangar said on ESPN Cricinfo, “The difference in the mindset, knowing this could well be his last opportunity. Whatever gameplan you have, you are in that fight mechanism. That’s where you put your best foot forward, backing your strengths and looking for the scoring areas. He scored a lot of runs off the front foot and got a few balls on his legs as well, which he very efficiently put away.”

Bangar feels Nair would have been under the pump while coming into the fifth Test after his low returns early in the series.

Bangar said, “Because of the kind of pressure he was under, and understanding this could be a critical Test match in his career, it brought the best out of him. On any other day, if England had bowled better as a pack, and if not for the knocks from Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair, the team could have been bowled out for 150. In that context, this is turning out to be a valuable knock from Karun Nair.”

On the other hand, Bangar heaped praise on Sai Sudharsan, who scored an impressive knock of 38 runs off 108 balls. The former Indian batting coach was impressed that the left-hander curtailed his shots through the off-side.

“What impressed me the most was how he curtailed his strokeplay outside the off-stump in the initial part of his innings. Despite that being a stronger suit of his game, curbing the instinct of not playing cover drives even to balls he would have normally driven, that was the standout part,” said Bangar.

Karun Nair and Washington Sundar would hold the key for India on second day’s play.