Which Indian has the longest gap between fifties in cricket history? No it's not Karun Nair
It had been a long wait — 3149 days to be precise — but Karun Nair finally has another fifty-plus score to his name in Test cricket. The right-hander, who once lit up the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai with a remarkable 303 not out against England in December 2016, reached an unbeaten 52 at stumps on Day 1 of the fifth Test on Thursday, marking his first significant score in nearly nine years.
This gap between two fifty-plus scores in men's Tests is the second-longest for an Indian batter, since the second World War. The only Indian with a longer drought is
Parthiv Patel
, who endured 4426 days between his fourth and fifth Test fifties — from 54 against Australia in October 2004 to 67 against England in November 2016.
India vs England 5th Test Preview: Can Shubman Gill's India level the series at The Oval?
Nair's resilient half-century came after a series of promising, but thrown-away starts during previous matches.
It was a major highlight of the opening day's play at The Oval, helping India cross the 200-run mark and stitching a half-century partnership with Washington Sundar, which will resume on day two.
This tour marks Nair's return to international cricket after eight years.
India's assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate hailed Nair's fighting half-century against England. "He started off at six in the first test and then batted at three for the other two tests.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Real-Time Conversations in 68 Languages? AI Just Made It Possible
Enence 2.0
Undo
I always said, and we always thought, that his tempo and his rhythm were very good. He is a quality player, particularly for that reason that he can absorb the pressure. So going in today at a different position, again, I thought he summed up the conditions really well.
Look, when someone comes back into the test side like he does after a lengthy absence, the pressure is always there, and I think he has handled that very well."
In the series, Nair has made 183 runs in four Tests and seven innings at an average of 30.50, with a best score of 52*. His scores in the other three Tests were 0 and 20 in Headingley, 31 and 26 at Edgbaston and 40 and 14 at Lord's.
Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
9 minutes ago
- India Today
Money important than blood: Uddhav Sena MP slams government over Ind vs Pak match
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on Sunday launched a strong attack on the government and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for allowing a cricket match between India and Pakistan in the upcoming Asia Cup. She alleged that monetary interests have been prioritised over the blood of Indian soldiers and citizens, calling it not just "blood money" but "cursed money".advertisement"When money is more important than the blood of our fellow Indians and our men in uniform. Shame on GoI for being a hypocrite on Operation Sindoor. And dear BCCI- this is not just blood money that you'll seek to earn but also cursed money," Chaturvedi said. Her remarks came just hours after the Asian Cricket Council officially announced the tournament venues in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, highlighting the India-Pakistan match as "Blockbuster Fixture". "India vs Pakistan is scheduled for 14 September, 2025 with potential rematches during Super Four and Final," the council mentioned.- Ends
India.com
9 minutes ago
- India.com
Star Indian player beats Sunil Gavaskar and Virat Kohli, becomes first ever Indian to..., his name is...
Star Indian player goes past Sunil Gavaskar and Virat Kohli, becomes first ever Indian to..., his name is... New Delhi: Ravindra Jadeja scored another half-century on the third day of the fifth and final Test match being played against England at The Oval. This was his sixth half-century in this series, with which he continued his excellent performance with the bat. Records of Sunil Gavaskar, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant broken Jadeja scored 53 runs in India's second innings, and during this time, he set the Indian record for the most 50+ scores in a Test series in England. Earlier, this record was in the name of Sunil Gavaskar (1979), Virat Kohli (2018), and Rishabh Pant (2025) with five half-centuries. Top among batsmen playing at number 6 or below The 36-year-old Jadeja broke the 59-year-old record of West Indies legend Sir Garfield Sobers by scoring the most 50+ scores (six times) while batting at number 6 or below in a Test series in England. VVS Laxman's record also left behind With this achievement, Jadeja also left behind VVS Laxman's record. Laxman had scored five 50+ scores while batting at number 6 or below in a Test series, while Jadeja has achieved this feat six times. Most runs at number 6 or below in a foreign Test series Jadeja has now scored a total of 516 runs in this series. This is the third-highest score by any batsman while batting at number 6 or below in a foreign Test series. Only Garfield Sobers (England, 1966) and Pakistan's Wasim Raja (West Indies, 1976–77) are ahead of him. For the first time in Indian Test history, three batsmen completed 500+ runs In this Test series, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, and Ravindra Jadeja – all three have scored more than 500 runs. This is the first time that three players have achieved this feat together in a single series in Indian Test history.
New Indian Express
9 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Win to give women wings to fly
Divya Deshmukh is on a felicitation spree, meeting ministers, celebrities and the ilk. Hours and hours of practice; travelling during weekends to Chennai for special chess classes. She has done what no other woman chess player in the country had done before—win the chess World Cup. She will spark another revolution in chess. This time for the women's game. At the beginning of the week, two Indian women, separated by a generation but united by their passion and excellence in chess, duelled in the final of the women's World Cup. As soon as Deshmukh, 19, and Koneru Humpy, 38, advanced to the final of one of the game's most prestigious events, it further entrenched what the 2024 women's Olympiad had shown. The Chinese may be the foremost practitioners of women's chess but India's barrier-shattering women have closed the gap. At the Olympiad in Budapest last year, India, purely going by seedings, didn't stand a chance of winning gold. But youth and experience (Humpy, D Harika, Deshmukh, Vantika Agarwal and Tania Sachdev) combined to devastating effect. Yet, the chess fraternity wasn't too keen on announcing a change of guard because China hadn't sent their strongest contingent. Russia couldn't send a team and China's roster lacked the stardust as both the world champion (Ju Wenjun) and the challenger (Tan Zhongyi) were absent. The top-ranked Hou Yifan hadn't travelled and Lei Tingjie (the other Chinese in last year's Candidates) was also missing. But both Zhongyi and Tingjie were present at the women's World Cup in Georgia last month. It's what makes Deshmukh's title and Humpy's run to the final all that bit more special. More importantly, the teen's victory could have a multiplier effect. 'It has the potential to inpsire a lot of girls,' says Swayams Mishra, a GM who played a big role at last year's Olympiad. 'Young kids will aim higher.' Chess, at first glance, may seem like a game suited for both genders without many differences. But it cannot be further from the truth as girls face a lot of barriers, right from the entry level till the elite level. It's why out of 88 Indian GMs, only four are women (Deshmukh became the fourth on account of winning the World Cup).
