A former engineer reveals Indian cricketer Karun Nair's mother Prema's visit to MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai yesterday during the India vs England fifth test resulted in her son scoring a triple century
Karun Nair and his parents (Pic Credit/ BCCI Twitter)
Karun Nair gets a hero's welcome on returning to the pavilion after his historic triple century in Chennai yesterday
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Bangalore: On July 17, Karun Nair had a fortuitous escape from the claws of death when the boat in which he was travelling overturned near Alappuzha, Kerala. But one of his close relatives and friend did not have such luck, succumbing to fate's design.
Kaladharan Nair and Prema, Karun's parents, kept him distracted from the tragedy and got him back to cricket. Their efforts had a joyous culmination at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai yesterday.
"It is a proud moment for the entire family. Generally, his mother (Prema, a school teacher) does not come to the stadium to watch matches. At times, she does not even watch him bat on TV but later, she watches the replays. This time, her visit to the stadium has a very happy result, Karun's triple hundred," said Kaladharan, a 62-year-old former engineer.
Proud Parents congratulate @karun126 on his triple hundred and a special @ashwinravi99 hug #INDvENG #KarunNair pic.twitter.com/CIppqOhhaF
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 19, 2016
"Yes, we were a bit anxious while he was nearing the triple ton. But Karun is a focused boy and we knew he will not miss the occasion," he added.
"He has a great sense of occasion. He rarely misses a chance to score big and the situation, however massive it is, it does not overawe him. His calmness is the biggest part of his game," said former Karnataka cricketer GK Anil Kumar.
Nair's triple ton against Tamil Nadu in the Ranji final in Mumbai two seasons ago testifies his penchant for big scores on a big occasion.
Karun has always battled past barriers. He was a premature child. He had weak lungs when he was born. Perhaps, those early struggles had steeled him as a person and it percolated into his cricket too.