London [UK], August 1 : Following a rain-hit day one of the fifth and final Test against England at The Oval, India's assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate hailed batter Karun Nair for his fighting unbeaten half-century, saying that he has handled the pressure of delivering a good performance after a lengthy absence from the Test side really well and given himself a chance to score a big and meaningful score for the team.
Nair's resilient half-century, which came after a series of promising, but thrown-away starts during previous matches, was a major highlight of the first day 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.
Speaking on Nair, who started the tour at number six, shifted up to number three for the second and third Tests and now is batting at number five at The Oval, Doeschate said during the post-day presser, "He started off at six in the first test and then batted at three for the other two tests. 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."
So far 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 at Leeds, 31 and 26 at Birmingham and 40 and 14 at Lord's. The right-hander looked fluent in plenty of these innings, but failed to convert them into something big.
"When you are representing a country like India, you do not expect it easy, and the guys are attuned to going there and dealing with the pressure. Hats off to Karun. I think he has had a really good tour with that, blowing the lights out. But he has given himself a chance now, tomorrow, to get a big, meaningful score for the team," he added about Nair.
The assistant coach said that the conditions and circumstances suited him well while he was batting, and called him a "versatile" player for being able to bat anywhere.
"I thought six was a big ask. Six is very different to five, four, three. And given the way that we could play it and how early he got to the crease today, I think it suited him nicely. But he has never complained. The messaging is always the same. It is the team that comes first.
What job can you do for the team? And he just cracks on with it. And like everyone else, he just wants to give his best and play as much test cricket as he can," concluded.
England won the toss and elected to field first. Team India never really managed to stitch massive partnerships, with openers Yashasvi Jaiswal (2) and KL Rahul (14) dismissed early. Skipper Shubman Gill's suicidal run-out for 21 and Sudharan's dismissal for 38 in 108 balls (with six fours) shook the top order, and Ravindra Jadeja (9) and Dhruv Jurel (19) crumbled under pressure.
Nair (52*) and Sundar (19*) put on a valuable 51-run stand for the seventh wicket after India was reduced to 153/6, helping India cross the 200-run mark. Gus Atkinson (2/31) and Josh Tongue (2/47) were the top bowlers for England.