Nair's triple pushes England on back foot in Chennai Test

Chennai [India], Dec. 19 (ANI): Karun Nair on Monday became the second Indian batsman to score a triple hundred as he helped his side to be on the driver's seat in the fifth and final Test against England here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Nair unbeaten 303* helped India to declare on 759/7, thus getting a lead of 282 runs on the fourth day of the Chennai Test. It was India's highest total in Test cricket eclipsing 726/9 against Sri Lanka in Mumbai in 2009. At Stumps on Day 4, England were 12-0 in their second innings with skipper Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings unbeaten at the crease on 3 and 9 respectively. Nair, who plays for Karnataka in the domestic circuit, joined the former swashbuckling Indian opener Virender Sehwag, who has the distinction of reaching the landmark twice. Back in March 2008, the Chepauk Stadium had witnessed the first triple-hundred on Indian soil as Sehwag plundered 319 against South Africa. The Karnataka boy, playing his third Test, having made his debut in this series only at Mohali, smashed 32 fours and four sixes in his historic innings. Nair's 300 is now the fifth highest individual score Test score by an Indian batsman. Sehwag's 319 and 300, followed by VVS Laxman's 281 and Dravid's 278 are the best Test scores before. Resuming the day at 391-4, the hosts lost the wicket of Murali Vijay (29) early in the morning. However, World No. 1 all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin (67) and Ravindra Jadeja (51) made sure the 25-year-old Karnataka boy gets able support and flourishes during the course of his innings. Cook rotated his bowlers on the flat pitch in an attempt to apply pressure to the batsmen, but all went in vain. Yesterday, Nair and KL Rahul (199) led India's reply to England's 477 first innings total with a 161-run stand. With just one day to go and pitch not deteriorating much, this match seems to be only heading towards a draw. (ANI)