#4 Karun Nair
Rohit Sharma’s quadriceps injury meant that Nair got a chance in the playing XI and in the process, he became the 287th player to represent India in Test cricket. He had an unforgettable start to his Test career, perishing to a run-out by Jos Buttler, after scoring four from that much deliveries.
The Mumbai Test didn’t turn to be lucky for Nair either as he was again dismissed cheaply courtesy an overturned LBW decision off the bowling of Moeen Ali. Nevertheless, in the short stint of 13 runs, he had hit three scorching boundaries.
With 17 runs from the first two Tests at an average of 8.50, Nair felt the heat at the highest level. Nonetheless, he struck an incredible innings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. After England piled on 477 in the first innings, it needed a decent show from the Indian batsmen.
Nair came in third down and dominated the English bowlers from the word go. He used his feet efficiently, played the sweeps and reverse-sweeps to good effect and went on to become the second Indian, after Virender Sehwag, to register a 300 in Test cricket. From an unknown commodity, he turned into an overnight star.
| Batting | |||||||
| Matches | Runs | Average | Strike-Rate | Fifties | Hundreds | Best | Conversion-Rate |
| 3 | 320 | 160.00 | 79.40 | 0 | 1 | 303* | 100.00 |
