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.

Punjab’s Vihaan Malhotra (103, 208b, 11×4) struck a century on First Class debut but it was not enough to dispel Assam’s stake at a first-innings lead on day three of their Ranji Trophy round one match at the New PCA Stadium here.

Evidently a first-innings shoot-off after rain washed out the first day, the contest was turning one-sided when Vihaan took the wheel in a 137-run opening partnership with Harnoor Pannu (54, 132b, 7×4). But Punjab lost five wickets for 100 runs on either side of tea.

Salil Arora and Emanjot Singh Chahal arrested the collapse with a 50-run sixth-wicket partnership, but Punjab was at 287 for five at stumps, still 86 behind.

Both Vihaan and Harnoor were true to their kind — languid, left-handed batters — and plundered the off-side in the morning session.

Harnoor had just slogged Amlanjyoti Das through the on-side, shortly after his 121-ball half-century, when he was caught in two minds on a delivery outside off against Sarupam Purkayastha and edged to the ’keeper.

Vihaan blundered on 95, poking a delivery outside off from Mukhtar Hussain but was dropped by the wicketkeeper. Mukhtar made him play with the angle and got the ball to change line and crash into the off-stump but a no ball check got Vihaan another life on 101.

Sandwiched in between was Uday Saharan’s attacking intent, which was cut short by a lapse in concentration. Shortly after a verbal skirmish with Sibsankar Roy, he was trapped in front off Purkayastha.

There was no let-off a third time as Mukhtar pinned Vihaan with a delivery that came in after pitching. Assam gave away just 42 runs in the time it got Ramandeep Singh run out and Jashanpreet Sidhu leg-before off Amlanjyoti.

With the second new ball just two overs old, Assam will walk out on the fourth morning with its tails up, hoping to find a crack in the nagging sixth-wicket partnership and running through the tail that will follow.

The scores: Assam — 1st innings: 373.

Punjab — 1st innings: Vihaan Malhotra lbw b Mukhtar 103, Harnoor Pannu c Ghadigaonkar b Purkayastha 54, Uday Saharan lbw b Purkayastha 30, Jashanpreet Sidhu lbw b Amlanjyoti 22, Ramandeep Singh (run out) Denish 17, Salil Arora (batting) 25, Emanjot Chahal (batting) 28; Extras (b-1, nb-7): 8; Total (for five wkts. in 96 overs): 287.

Fall of wickets: 1-137, 2-195, 3-195, 4-226, 5-237.

Assam bowling: Mukhtar 23-5-79-1, Dipjyoti 9-2-40-0, Amlanjyoti 25-2-54-1, Purkayastha 18-3-52-2, Mohit 21-2-61-0.

Ten years ago, Mohammed Siraj was a Ranji Trophy breakout star. In his first full season (2016-17), he finished as the third-highest wicket-taker (41 wickets in nine matches at an average of 18.92). On Tuesday, he wrapped up his first win while captaining the side that launched a career that took him to international stage.

Between the two lies an India career and a drive Siraj says has not changed.

“I still have the same hunger and passion that I had when I made my debut [for Hyderabad]. When I’m replacing someone [in the team], my intention is to create magic for the team,” he declared.

“To win our first match of the season and my first match as a captain is an amazing feeling. [Getting a bonus point] is a big boost for us and we want to carry this forward.”

On a red-soil pitch that didn’t hand pacers an easy ride, he said hard work made the difference. “Red soil wickets are always helpful to fast bowlers. But this wasn’t.”

Spinners, meanwhile, made the most of the surface: 30 wickets fell in total, with tweakers bagging 27 and one being a runout. The remaining two were scalped by Siraj himself.

The 32-year-old also credited Wasim Jaffer, roped in as a mentor to all teams in HCA’s purview, for his role in the team.

“Wasim bhai is always telling batters where and how to score. He made sure we stayed focused. He’s a domestic legend and knows how to play on these wickets.”

The Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) has informed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that the Arun Jaitley Stadium would not be able to stage Delhi’s home games in the first phase of the 2026-27 Ranji Trophy season. The venue, which hosted three T20Is between India and Afghanistan last week, is set to undergo a renovation, with the DDCA looking to install a state-of-the-art drainage system.

Delhi has two home matches, against Gujarat (October 18-21) and Services (November 2-5), in the first four rounds of the Ranji Trophy. These games will be held at the Air Force Station Complex in Palam, which is the home base of Services. The First Class competition will pause in November for the white-ball events before resuming in January. Delhi has another home game against Maharashtra in the second phase, scheduled from February 1 to 4.

The stadium, in the heart of the national capital, is also slated to host an ODI between India and Sri Lanka on December 13.

“The plan is to switch to a sand-based outfield. Our drainage system is lagging behind many grounds in the country. As and when the work begins, it will take four to five months,” said a DDCA official.

Delhi’s opening fixture of the Ranji campaign is against Bengal at the Bengal Cricket Academy Ground in Kalyani from October 11 to 14.

All-rounder Jalaj Saxena will represent Kerala in the 2026-27 domestic season. Jalaj, who played for Maharashtra in the 2025-26 season, didn’t take part in the Maharashtra Premier League (MPL) in June. He applied for an NOC and the BCCI approved his transfer, making him eligible to play for Kerala.

The BCCI clearance came on the eve of the Kerala Cricket League player auction. Alleppey Ripples, for whom Jalaj played last season, was quick to retain him for ₹5 lakh. Jalaj was also actively involved in the auction as part of Ripples’ bidding team. 

Mohammed Azharuddeen, former Kerala Ranji Trophy captain, welcomed Jalaj back, stating that his availability will be a big boost for Kerala.

“He is a proven match-winner. We all know the value he brings to the side. We struggled to take wickets last season, and Jalaj will strengthen our bowling in the upcoming season,” he said.

Jalaj, who left Kerala after nine seasons, had taken 25 wickets and scored 164 runs for Maharashtra in the Ranji Trophy last season. 

For Kerala, Jalaj has taken 352 wickets and scored 3,153 runs across all formats. In the Ranji Trophy alone, Jalaj scored 2,252 runs, including three centuries, and took 269 wickets with 23 five-wicket hauls for Kerala. He remains the only cricketer to score 6,000 runs and take 400 wickets in Ranji Trophy.