Unfair to compare Karun Nair and Sehwag: Sourav Ganguly

Team India had a brilliant day on the penultimate day of the final Test against England at Chennai. It was one man who made the day his own – Karun Nair. He had the time of his life on the field. The middle order batsman Nair smashed an unbeaten 303 to enter the record books as the second Indian to reach the 300-run mark.

India started day 4 at 391/4 with a deficit of 86 runs to be covered. The Indian batsmen took full toll of the English bowlers as they ended up with a mammoth 759/7 on the board before taking a crack at the English batsmen. Nair brought up his century early in the first session of play. After reaching the landmark, he stepped on the accelerator to up the ante. In no time, he was seen crossing the 200-run mark.

Soon, he found himself in a position to score a triple ton and skipper Virat Kohli delayed the declaration for Nair to reach the coveted milestone. Wishes came in flogging from all corners for the young Karnataka batsman. He became only the second Indian to score a triple ton after Virender Sehwag. Sehwag had the distinction of doing it twice. He hit his first triple ton against Pakistan in 2004 at Multan.

He then scored his second triple ton against South Africa at the same Chennai venue where Nair reached his triple century. Amidst such a backdrop, it was only obvious that comparisons were bound to be drawn between Sehwag and Karun. However, the former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly feels it is unfair to compare the two players. He cited Sehwag was class apart and one of his own kind in the league.

He praised Karun’s effort but feels the comparisons should be kept aside. “Nair’s triple hundred is at par with Sehwag’s triple hundreds. It would be unfair to compare both players,” Ganguly quoted to India Today.

Sourav Ganguly also said that Karun Nair would have cherished every run and it would now be difficult to drop him once the Mumbai batsman Ajinkya Rahane is ready to return to his usual spot in the playing XI.