ENG vs IND 2025: Karun Nair falls cheaply yet again as Carse traps him into the drive

India batter Karun Nair has had a difficult return to the national team, scoring his fourth consecutive low score with his departure in the second innings of the second Test against England at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Nair, who batted at No. 3 in this match, edged a full-ish delivery from Brydon Carse as wicketkeeper Jamie Smith took a regulation catch behind the stumps on Day 3.

This was an ideal surface for the English teenager, who had repeatedly troubled Karun Nair with short, bouncy deliveries.

After a couple balls found the outside edge but remained away from the fielders at the slip cordon, Nair decided to drive anything that was pitched even slightly fuller, resulting in a boundary between the point and the gully zone in the previous over.

The next over, Carse was astute enough to force Nair into drive once more, and when the batter saw a full-length ball coming his way, his natural impulse went away with the hit, only to find the outside edge as he had to make his way back to the pavilion after adding 26 runs off 46 balls.

Speaking of Nair’s form in the series, the Headingley Test saw the Karnataka-born register scores of 0 and 20 while batting at No. 6, a game that India lost. Coming into Birmingham, the management tried to promote Nair up the order, as he joined Yashasvi Jaiswal at the crease at No. 3 and looked extremely good for his 31 runs, but was unfortunately taken off guard by a short ball on the 50th delivery he faced. Then in the second innings, Carse did the job yet again.