Kerala will look for an early course correction as it returns to familiar home terrain against Odisha in a second round match of the Ranji Trophy at the Sports Hub Greenfield stadium here on Sunday.

Kerala’s season opener against Jharkhand in Jamshedpur was chastening as it was thoroughly dominated by its rival. Though Kerala followed-on, it managed to hang on for a draw. But the match exposed Kerala’s limitations in both batting and bowling. It allowed Jharkhand’s lower order to prosper as the host piled up a huge first innings total.

Kerala’s familiar top-order collapse on a flat track, after Abhishek P. Nair’s attacking century, is a major cause of concern. Mohammed Azharuddeen’s lean patch with the bat has continued in this season as well.

However, Abhishek’s century, Aditya Sarvate’s rearguard knock and Vaisakh Chandran’s five-wicket haul were the big takeaways for Kerala from the opening fixture.

To shore up its batting, Kerala has included under-23 captain Abhishek J. Nair who recently lashed an unbeaten ton against Pondicherry. The host will look to maximise its home advantage against Odisha which suffered a crushing 10-wicket defeat in its opening match against Gujarat.

While Odisha had its moments against Gujarat, a second innings collapse on the final day cost it the match. The visitor will be looking for an improved show against the host.

However, the weather may have a decisive say in the outcome of the match. With the arrival of the North East monsoon in Kerala, the capital city has been experiencing steady rainfall for the last few days.

Heavy rain forced the teams to cancel their net sessions on Saturday and with the forecast for more showers in the coming days, the weather could very well play spoilsport.

Abhishek P. Nair played his first Ranji Trophy match in circumstances most unusual. He came in as a concussion substitute in the second innings of the match against Saurashtra last year, for opener A.K. Akarsh, who was making his debut.

Abhishek walked in at a difficult time. Kerala needed to bat out time to ensure a draw at Thiruvananthapuram, his hometown. He batted for 87 balls, and Kerala managed to get the draw.

Almost a year later, Abhishek got to play a Ranji match in the conventional way. And he made it count, scoring a magnificent hundred, but Kerala ended day three against Jharkhand in not a very comfortable position.

In reply to the host’s 587, Kerala reached 269 for six. Overtaking that score doesn’t look very likely: not much batting is left. Avoiding the follow-on should be a priority, but that target (436) isn’t easy.

The Jharkhand men indeed have every reason to step on to the field at the Keenan Stadium on Wednesday morning with spring in their steps. They took control after the Kerala top-order looked in command in the first half of the day.

The visitors were 204 for one at one stage, but lost five wickets for an addition of another 45 runs. That, actually, mirrored the Jharkhand innings. The home side, however, staged a splendid fightback through a sixth-wicket stand by captain Virat Singh and Aditya Singh, who both hit hundreds.

Kerala had begun very well though, with Abhishek and Rohan Kunnummal batting with confidence and flair. But Rohan’s unwise and unsure loft towards long-off against Utkarsh Singh proved costly, as he was caught well by Sushant Mishra, running in from the boundary and timing his dive perfectly.

Abhishek, however, continued to bat sensibly even as playing some delectable shots, before he was caught and bowled by left-arm spinner Manishi Singh. Spinners indeed could have a big role to play on the final day.

The scores: Jharkhand — 1st innings: 587.

Kerala — 1st innings: Abhishek P. Nair c & b Manishi 126, Rohan Kunnummal c Sushant b Uktarsh 44, Sachin Baby c Minz b Utkarsh 35, Vishnu Vinod lbw b Quraishi 15, Salman Nizar (batting) 17, Mohammed Azharuddeen c sub (Sagar) b Quraishi 0, Jalaj Saxena lbw b Utkarsh 7, Aditya Sarwate (batting) 13; Extras (b-4, lb-1, w-2, pen-5) 12; Total (for six wkts. in 90 overs): 269.

Fall of wickets: 1-83, 2-204, 3-224, 4-232, 5-232, 6-249.

Jharkhand bowling: Sahil 5-1-11-0, Sushant 7-0-39-0, Manishi 18-3-62-1, Uktarsh 24-5-54-3, Shekhar 6-0-27-0, Quraishi 19-7-38-2, Aditya 11-2-28-0.