Nair soaks in the moment after scoring his triple century
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Karun Nair had a day to remember as he made an unbeaten 303 to leave England in dire straits on the penultimate day of the fifth Test in Chennai.
Nair joined an elite club as he became only the third player in Test history after Sir Garfield Sobers and Bob Simpson, and the first Indian, to convert a maiden Test century into a triple hundred.
Starting off the day on 391/4, Nair and Murali Vijay converted their 19-run partnership into a 63-run stand, during which Nair brought up his hundred, before Vijay was trapped lbw off the bowling of debutant Liam Dawson for 29.
Despite the loss of Vijay, India continued to keep the scoreboard ticking as Nair and Ashwin amassed a mammoth 181-run partnership, during which Nair sailed past his double century and Ashwin his fifty.
With things getting way out of hand, England tried everything in their power to end the stand between Nair and Ashwin as India’s lead continued to grow.
In the end, it was Stuart Broad who provided the breakthrough for the tourists as he removed Ashwin for 67, which came off 149 balls and included six boundaries and a six.
Ashwin scored his 10th Test fifty
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Despite the dismissal of Ashwin, Nair and Ravindra Jadeja continued to assert India’s dominance as they put together a 138-run stand, during which Jadeja went past his half-century, while Nair was left within touching distance of his triple century.
With the end of the day fast approaching, England finally got their third breakthrough when Jadeja was sent packing by Dawson for 51, which came off 55 deliveries and included one boundary and two sixes.
Jadeja made his fourth Test fifty
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Nair subsequently proceeded to make his triple hundred and India decided to declare on 759/7, which gave them a 282-run lead.
India made the seventh-highest total in Test history and their highest in the longest format, beating their previous record of 726/9 against Sri Lanka in Mumbai in December 2009.
Nair ended up making a career-best 303 not out, which came off 381 balls and included 32 boundaries and four sixes.
The 25-year-old became just the second Indian player to make a triple hundred after Virender Sehwag, who made two during his illustrious career.
Broad and Dawson picked up two wickets apiece, while Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes and Adil Rashid claimed one wicket each.
Trailing by 282 runs, England made a cautious start to their second innings as Keaton Jennings and captain Alastair Cook accumulated an unbeaten 12-run partnership before stumps was called.
Jennings finished on nine off 13 balls, which included one boundary, while Cook remained undefeated on three.
England ended day four on 12/0 and will continue batting on Tuesday at 09:30 local time or 04:00 GMT.