Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen backed Karun Nair to get a well-deserved and long-awaited half century on Day 1 of IND vs ENG 5th Test. Kevin Pietersen, who mentored Delhi Capitals in IPL 2025,
Pietersen wrote on X (formerly Twitter) “So happy for Karun and how he’s stabilised India’s batting yesterday. He’s a tremendously hard worker on his game and we spent many hours talking about batting in England during the IPL. I’m hoping he gets a wonderful 100 today”
The duo worked together during the latter’s stint with Delhi Capitals in IPL 2025 where the former was DC’s batting coach. After enduring failures in six innings in the ongoing Test series in England, Nair finally managed to break free of the shackles and remained unbeaten on 52 runs at the end of play on Day 1.
Nair started off his comeback on the worst possible note, getting dismissed for a duck in the IND vs ENG 1st Test in Leeds. It was then followed by scores of 20, 31, 26, 40 and 14. Karun was then dropped from the XI in the Manchester Test. However, he received probably what could be one last chance in the 5th Test as India decided to go ahead with an extra batter in the line-up.
Karun didn’t squander the opportunity this time around as he displayed immense grit en route to his first half-century in over seven years. He now has the golden opportunity to cement his spot in India’s Test XI by getting to a triple-figure score on Day 2 of the IND vs ENG 5th Test in London.
Nair made his way back into the IPL after 3 years as DC acquired his services for just Rs 50 lakhs in the mega auction. In 8 matches, he amassed 198 runs, including one half-century. Karun subsequently went on to earn a recall to the Indian Test team for the series against England after over a seven-year gap. Of course, it was his consistent performance in domestic cricket, apart from the IPL, that paved way for his return to India’s red-ball setup.
The Bengaluru man, who now plays for Vidarbha, used his extensive experience of playing for English County Northamptonshire during his 24th first-class ton.
Live
England vs India, 5th Test at London, Jul 31 2025
India 224/10
England 18/0, (3 ov)
Day 2 – Session 1: England trail by 206 runs.
