Nair becomes second Indian to score triple ton

Karun Nair outgunned his Karnataka teammate, KL Rahul, who fell for 199, to become the second Indian - after Virender Sehwag - to score a triple hundred in Test cricket and stretch India's lead to 282 in Chennai on Monday.

Nair, on the third day, played in Rahul's shadow as the opener took England's bowlers apart with an impressive 311-ball 199. Rahul's departure on the stroke of stumps provided Nair - batting on 69 at the time - with the opportunity to write his own success story.

The right hander joined forces with R Ashwin to add to England's woes. He was unforgiving against the spinners and cut, swept them with ease on a surface that offered little assistance. He successfully found the leg-side boundary frequently despite the presence of deep midwicket and deep backward square leg.

Alastair Cook, England's captain, shuffled his bowlers often, but even his seamers had no answer to Nair's impressive display, as he unfurled a variety of shots - including ramp shots over the keeper - with flair.

He scored 75 runs in the post-lunch session at a strike rate of 87.21 and reached his maiden ton from 185 balls. Adil Rashid forced Nair to err on 154 when his reverse sweep took an edge and was caught by Jonny Bairstow. But the on-field umpire ruled in his favour and England had no reviews to challenge the decision.

At tea, Nair stood five runs away from his double ton, while India stood tall at 585 for 5. It took Nair just seven ball after the interval to reach the milestone, as he spanked Keaton Jennings through the covers for four. His second hundred came from 121 balls, while his first came from 185 balls.

Nair was relentless in his pursuit for runs and found yet another gear after his double hundred. He plundered his way from 200 to 300 in just 75 balls. In all, Nair hit 32 fours and four sixes in triple ton that came from 381 balls. He became only the second Indian, after Virender Sehwag, to score a 300 and the third batsman of all time, after Garry Sobers and Bob Simpson, to reach the landmark on debut. The 25-year-old is also the sixth youngest in world cricket to achieve the feat.

"Best knock I've played in my life. Many situations in the middle when I had to play differently, with Rahul, Ashwin and Jaddu. I have to thank them for supporting me, egging me on. The first hundred is always important and I think when I got the first hundred, I didn't feel any pressure. I was just playing my shots after that," Nair said.

"Sweep comes naturally to me, I've worked on it a lot, it's my go-to shot and it just came off today. [Family sitting in the stands] My dad watches most of my games. No extra pressure on me. I'd like to thank them for coming over. I think they should be proud of me. I didn't know how to swim. People there rescued me and I was lucky to live again [about the boat accident in his home in Kerala] The message was to attack in the third session. We had a set overs to declare on, but when I got closer to 300, they pushed it back. I'm thankful to the team management. Rahul is a good player. He'll get his 200 soon. The pitch is getting worse day by day. Hard for a new batsman. It's turning a bit right now, hope it turns more tomorrow. "