Mentally, I was ready, waited for my chance: Karun Nair

Karun Nair marked his return to IPL with a superb knock for Delhi Capitals, but despite being away from the league for two seasons, he always knew what to expect from opposition in terms of quality having been there and done that earlier too. Grabbing his first opportunity of the season with both hands, Karun hit a superb 40-ball 89 while chasing a target of 206, but it went in vain as DC ended on 193 in 19 overs to go down by 12 runs to Mumbai Indians.

Not many batters have hit Jasprit Bumrah for two sixes in an over and Karun underlined his preparation as a key to success, having gained enough confidence during the domestic season in which he aggregated 1870 runs for Vidarbha across formats.

“Honestly, I had the confidence that I’ve played [IPL] before and I know how it’s going to be, and it’s nothing different that I’m going to be facing anything new,” Nair, a Test-match triple-centurion, told reporters.

“So, 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 again and the atmosphere,” said Nair, who last played in the 2022 season for Rajasthan Royals.

He also spoke about hitting conventional shots during Powerplay and then going for improvisation during the latter part of the innings.

“So I just told myself, ‘give yourself the time, play normal shots and then, you know, improvise when needed’. Fortunately, everything came off, and I’m happy that I batted well. But again, I would have loved that if the team had gone on to win.” He didn’t play in first four games but knew that sooner or later his chance would come and he would have to be ready.

“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’ve been all through the season and waiting for my chance. So I was doing my bit to prepare and be ready for the game.”

“It’s always a tough call for the team to pick 11 or 12 players, and I’ve always respected that. For me, it was about preparing and keeping the same process that I followed, which has worked for me, and just being ready to go out there and perform for the team.”

Benefitted from ball change

Veteran leg-spinner Karn Sharma, who dismissed Abhishek Porel, KL Rahul and Tristan Stubbs admitted that ball change after 13^th over did help Mumbai Indians as it gripped and turned making life difficult for batters.

“I didn’t expect that there would be a dew. Because in the first innings, I think there was no dew. So when the ball was changed, the seam was newer and it was a little upright. So it gave me purchase from the wicket and we benefited from that,” Karn, who took 3 for 36, said at the post match press conference.

Karn, who had won the IPL with Mumbai Indians in 2017, is considered as a ‘Lucky Mascot’ in IPL circles. He has been part of three IPL winning sides—SRH in 2016, MI in 2017 and CSK in 2018.

“It’s a good thing that I came back after 6-7 years to Mumbai Indians where I finished in 2017. I just wanted to continue from there whenever I get a chance,” Karn said.

“At that time, the situation was that they were going 10-11 runs per over. My role was just to take wickets in between. So, Mitchell Santner and I had to take wickets in between.”

“In such matches, every wicket is important. The way they were playing, the way they were performing, the way the batting was going on … obviously, KL Rahul is a big name for them. And they finished the game very well in the last match. So, for us, all the wickets were important at that time.” However, Karn admitted it was Karun’s wicket which tilted the match in their favour.

“The momentum broke after Karun was out. And after that, two or three wickets came together. So, that’s why the game changed.” Having played a lot of club cricket in Delhi and matches at the Kotla, his first hand knowledge did prove to be helpful.

“Actually, I’ve played a lot in Delhi and I’m from Meerut. So, I know how the ball will go off the surface.”

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