Nair's 98-run partnership with Danish Malewar (75) for the fourth wicket revived Vidarbha after their captain Akshay Wadkar ahd won the toss and elected to bat first. It was the seventh toss that Wadkar has won in eight Ranji games this season. The only time he lost the toss was against Hyderabad in Vidarbha's previous game.
Unfortunately for the home team, they lost opener Atharva Taide (0) in the third over of the morning.Aditya Thakare was handed a surprise promotion to No.3 but the team management's ploy didn't work as the latter too fell cheaply. But when the steady Dhruv Shorey too departed after making 26, Vidarbha were in trouble.
Malewar batted beautifully for his 75 which came off 119 deliveries and included 13 hits to the fence.He was the dominant partner in the 4th wicket association with Nair, who took his time to settle down.
But once he got his bearing right, Nair opened up and scattered the field with 14 crisply struck boundaries and six.
He reached the three-figure mark towards the end of the day's play in the company of Harsh Dubey, who once again looked in good touch.
Overall, it was Nair's eighth century this season --- five in Vijay Hazare Trophy (One-day format) and three in Ranji Trophy.
Vidarbha lost Yash Rathod (13) and Wadkar (24) but with four wickets standing and two in-form batters at the crease, they will be looking to add significantly to their tally.
Earlier, Vidarbha made just once change in their playing XI, bringing in pacer Nachiket Bhute in place of Parth Rekhade spinner)
BRIEF SCORES
Vidarbha 1st innings 264/6 in 89 overs (Dhruv Shorey 26, Danish Malewar 75, Akshay Wadkar 24, Karun Nair 100 batting; Vijay Shankar 2/50)
Tamil Nadu yet to bat