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As the Indian batting line-up crumbled dramatically on Day 3 of the second Test against South Africa in Guwahati, out-of-favour batter Karun Nair posted a cryptic message on social media that immediately sent shockwaves across the cricketing fraternity. The timing of the post has been widely interpreted as a subtle but powerful expression of the 33-year-old’s frustration over his continued exclusion from the national squad, despite a staggering run of form in domestic cricket.
Karun Nair’s cryptic message amid India’s batting collapse
The controversy stems from India’s dismal first-innings reply to South Africa’s commanding total of 489. After a respectable start, the Indian middle-order disintegrated, plummeting from 95/2 to a precarious 122/7, before eventually being dismissed for 201. The sequence of dismissals, featuring players like Sai Sudharsan (15), Dhruv Jurel (0), and Rishabh Pant (7), highlighted a glaring fragility in India’s batting unit on home soil.
It was against this backdrop of on-field disaster that Nair took to X (formerly Twitter), posting the enigmatic message: “Some conditions carry a feel you know by heart — and the silence of not being out there adds its own sting.”
Some conditions carry a feel you know by heart — and the silence of not being out there adds its own sting.
— Karun Nair (@karun126)
The post instantly went viral, resonating deeply with fans who have long campaigned for the inclusion of the only other Indian Test triple-centurion besides Virender Sehwag.
The conversation was further amplified when former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin responded to Nair’s tweet with a brief but loaded reply: “Adei [hey man] followed by a laughing emoji.”
Adei😂
— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99)
South Africa in commanding position after Marco Jansen’s bowling brilliance
Day 3 belonged emphatically to South Africa, who tightened their vice-like grip on the Test match. Resuming their first innings at 9/0, India’s openers, Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul, started steadily, putting on a 65-run stand. However, the moment Rahul fell to Keshav Maharaj, the innings suffered a monumental collapse.
The middle-order was then ripped apart by the towering left-arm quick Marco Jansen, who was the wrecker-in-chief, finishing with figures of 6 for 48. India lost four wickets for just seven runs, tumbling from a stable 95/1 to a desperate 102/4 by the Tea break. This included the wickets of Sai Sudharsan (15), Dhruv Jurel (0), and a rash shot from stand-in captain Rishabh Pant (7).
India’s only notable resistance came from a gritty 72-run partnership between Washington Sundar (48) and Kuldeep Yadav (19), who showcased the application the top-order lacked. However, their defiance merely delayed the inevitable, and India were eventually bundled out for just 201, conceding a massive 288-run first-innings lead. South Africa, opting not to enforce the follow-on, extended their dominance by ending the day at 26/0, pushing their overall lead to a daunting 314 runs.
