Karun breaks second season jinx

Dhawal Kulkarni. Abhimanyu Mithun. Suryakumar Yadav. All of them had exceptional maiden first-class seasons. All of them failed to replicate their success in the next. At the end of the Ranji Trophy semi-finals, Karun Nair had almost joined the list. Then came Monday.

On the second day of the Ranji final, Karun showed his skills as a middle-order batsman. He was patient and persevered to remain unbeaten after batting for more than seven hours to emphasis Karnataka's dominance.

Naturally, Karun was relieved and elated with his effort. "I think this is the best and most special because it has come in a Ranji final and I hadn't got any hundreds in this season. I was really looking forward to and hoping that I get one, so this is the most special," he told reporters after his unbeaten 130 against Tamil Nadu.

"I've been working hard so I was looking forward to such an opportunity. I think I was getting a lot of 30s, and I was getting out on one wrong ball."

So what was hampering him this season? Failing to cope with expectations? Being found out by the opposition teams? Trying too hard?.

"Not so long ago, he was trying to cement his place in the Karnataka team. Suddenly he scored those three centuries and he was picked for India A. For a guy who was trying to cement his place in the Ranji side, it was too much to handle the pressure on the young shoulders of suddenly being in the selectors' contention," J Arunkumar, Karnataka's batting coach, told ESPNcricinfo.

"At some stage, many youngsters start wondering whether they should do something different. But Karun is a confident cricketer. He was quite relaxed since he knew he was hitting the ball well."

Karun made his debut midway through the 2013-14 season and made headlines by scoring centuries in successive games against Delhi, Uttar Pradesh in the quarter-final and Punjab in the semi-final. That was followed by a successful stint with Rajasthan Royals in the IPL - 330 runs at an average of 33 and strike rate of 142.24 - and Karun was in Australia with the India A squad last July.

Since then, however, his form has slumped. After only one fifty in the first seven games, Karnataka decided to rest him for the last league game against Mumbai. Karun was asked to play the CK Nayudu Under-23 Trophy quarter-final and the move paid off as he scored a century and regained confidence.

It reflected in his performance in the Ranji semi-final against Mumbai. His unbeaten 49 in the first innings was crucial in Karnataka digging themselves out of a hole and he has followed it up with a remarkable innings in the final. He came to the crease at 16 for 3 last evening, saw off the day and built an innings that could end up being match-winning.

If he continues in the same vein, Tamil Nadu will be forced to field for three days, just like they did in their last final appearance, against Rajasthan in 2011-12.