Karnataka were 43 for 3 and still 101 behind, and Karun Nair’s unbeaten 155 saved them against Andhra
Andhra took the first-innings points in Vijayawada, but they could not get past Karun Nair on the last day of the Ranji Trophy opener.
Oct 14, 2026
Karun Nair walked off in Vijayawada on Wednesday with 155 not out against his name, and Karnataka walked off with a draw they had looked like losing for most of the match. Andhra still took three points from the game to Karnataka’s one, but that was about the best Andhra could do once Nair settled in.
The opening round of the 2026-27 Ranji Trophy was not kind to Karnataka’s top order. In the first innings they lost their first three wickets for nine runs, KL Rahul among them for four. In the second, KL Rahul made one.
A 144-run hole
Karnataka chose to bat and were 22 for 4 inside eight overs, Nair out lbw for 8. Captain Ravichandran Smaran rescued the innings with 126, and wicketkeeper Krishnan Shrijith added 58, but 274 did not look like enough.
Andhra showed why. Seeram Rahul, playing his first first-class match, made 119, and Revanth Reddy fell three short of a hundred. Andhra reached 418, a lead of 144. Shikhar Shetty bowled 35.5 overs for his 6 for 115, which tells you how hard the work was.
Then Karnataka slipped again. KL Rahul went lbw to Saurabh Kumar, Mayank Agarwal followed, and at 43 for 3 they were still 101 runs behind.
Nair settles in
Nair was 81 not out at the close on Tuesday, with Karnataka 176 for 4. On the last day he batted through all 43 overs Karnataka faced. By the end he had 242 balls, 16 fours and two sixes behind him, and he was still there when Karnataka declared on 337 for 9.
Most of the help came early. Manvanth Kumar, another debutant, made 44 in a stand of 94 for the fourth wicket. After that Smaran, Madhav Bajaj and Rithesh Bhatkal all got into the twenties while Lalith Mohan worked his way through the rest. He finished with 5 for 117 from 33 overs.
The declaration set Andhra 194, which was never a serious chase. They reached 104 for 4 from 44 overs, Seeram Rahul unbeaten on 35, and the match ended there.
What it means for Nair
Nair is 34, and he has been in this position before. He was dropped from India’s Test squad in September 2025 after a return in England that brought 205 runs in four Tests. By then he had already agreed to leave Vidarbha, where his runs had earned the recall, and go back to Karnataka.
One hundred in the opening round will not change a selection meeting on its own. It is the sort of innings, though, that keeps a name on the list when India’s selectors start talking about Test batters again.
Karnataka host Saurashtra in Alur from Sunday, 18 October. Andhra stay at home in Mulapadu to face Hyderabad.