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.

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.”

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.