Ranji Trophy: Abhishek P. Nair hits 126 for Kerala at Keenan Stadium

Abhishek P. Nair scored 126 for Kerala against Jharkhand at the Keenan Stadium in Jamshedpur on Tuesday in the Ranji Trophy. It was only his second innings in the competition.

Unlike many peers, Abhishek had not represented Kerala at age-group level before his senior call-up; "Though I represented the district (Thiruvananthapuram) and also played for the zone in junior levels, I could never get selected in the Kerala team," said Abhishek. "Because of my father’s transfer, I had played for a few years in Karnataka and I had once made it to their under-19 squad, but could not play in the XI."

Abhishek, a left-handed opener, combined strokemaking with the technique and temperament required for the longer format. "I have worked on that with coach Biju George," said the left-handed opener. "I was determined to play a long innings and I am glad that I could do it in this match." He first came into wider notice after scoring a 52-ball 108 in the Presidents Cup T20 tournament last year.

He said it was a good wicket to bat on but warned of growing assistance to the spinners: "But the spinners have been getting some help now, and batting isn’t as easy as the first two days," he said. "It was indeed a good toss won by Jharkhand," he said.

His first Ranji appearance had been as a concussion substitute at Thiruvananthapuram last year against Saurashtra. "But we are hopeful of batting well on the last day," he said.