How Karun Nair escaped death and went on to create cricket history for India

Karun Nair scored a brilliant triple century against England in Chennai to put Indian in the driver seat at the end of Day 4.

Monday truly marked a change Karun Nair’s fortunes as he ended the year 2016 with a bang. The last 12 months, however, were not all smooth sailing, with the 25-year-old surviving a tragic boat disaster in Kerala.

Chennai: India's Karun Nair being congratulated by England players as he leaves the ground after scoring his triple century. (PTI)

If not for the classy triple hundred in the Chennai Test on Monday, Karun Nair would have remembered this year mainly for the turbulence he faced. (HIGHLIGHTS)

Last July, Karun Nair survived an accident when he was trapped in a boat that capsized in a Kerala river.

Nair battled the deep waters of river Pampa in Kerala after the big snake boat he was in sunk during the famous ‘Aranmula Vallasadya’ (boat feast).

The young Karnataka cricketer was going to a temple as thanksgiving for making his limited overs India debut in Zimbabwe. (SCORECARD)

The accident took place when the boat was about to reach the temple (Aranmulala). According to reports, Karun Nair had to swim some distance and managed to stay afloat till he was rescued by boats. Six people died and several went missing.

Chennai: India's Karun Nair being greeted by skipper Virat Kohli and teammates after he scored his triple century against England/=.

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Unlike his Karnataka teammate KL Rahul, who threw away a richly deserved 200 with a poor stroke on Day 3 of the Chennai Test, Rahul showed the prudence needed to play a long Test innings. His unbeaten 303 took 381 balls.

Nair grabbed the opportunity to play the fifth and final Test against England with both hands. Ajinkya Rahane’s injury was god sent and Nair overturned his poor run in the first two Tests with some solid batting that put India on the driver’s seat going into the final day on Tuesday.