Cometh the hour, cometh Salman: Kerala's Ranji Trophy star

The Kerala camp had a lot of belief going into the third day of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Jammu & Kashmir in Pune. For the majority of the squad, that belief was just a placebo for the remainder of the match rather than the first session of the day per se because Kerala just had a wicket in hand and trailed by 80 runs.

But Salman Nizar had greater conviction as he came out to bat on 49 alongside Basil Thampi, who had yet to face a delivery. "I have always enjoyed pressure. I think I thrive under pressure," Salman told Onmanorama at the close of the third day's play. Salman forged an 81-run stand for the 10th wicket with Thampi (15), giving Kerala a handy 1-run lead.

"My mind was very clear when I came out to bat. The coach, my captain and all our seniors had repeatedly said that they knew we could add more runs. They said we have to try our best to narrow the lead. That is the mindset with which we came out to bat," Salman said. As he was the set batter, the onus of reducing the deficit was on Salman, but he knew that preserving the wicket of his partner was just as important.

"It was only possibly because of Basil chettan. He did a remarkable job today," Salman credited his partner Thampi for withstanding 34 of the 132 deliveries Kerala faced in the first session. Salman's reward for the day's toils was a much-deserved century, only his second in first-class cricket. But he never seemed in a hurry to get to the milestone, even though he could have done that with an easy single on more than one occasion. But that would have put his partner in trouble, so he soaked up the pressure as much as he could.

"From the days I have played age-category cricket, I have not bothered about personal milestones. To me, being the match-winner matters more than anything else. It could mean that I make a 20 or a 30 in some match but if that helps the team in some way, that is what I will do," said the 27-year-old, whose leadership skills were rewarded with captaincy in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, from which both Sachin Baby and Sanju Samson were absent.

Salman has been Kerala's go-to guy in the Ranji this season, a rock in the middle-order who got the job done time and again without much fuss. Earlier in the season, Salman was on the verge of scoring his maiden first-class century when Kerala declared against Bengal. The diminutive left-hander had crafted a patient 95 from 262 balls in the rain-hit match in Kolkata. Four years ago, he had done the same, helping Kerala avoid defeat to Punjab with a valiant 91.

Salman had to wait till late January for his maiden century. It came in the crunch game against Bihar in the final Ranji group match. Yet again, Salman wasn't playing with the century in mind. At 81/4, his task was to build partnerships, and he did just that, one after another (89-run stand with Shoun Roger for the fifth wicket and 79-run stand with Nidheesh for the ninth wicket). He saw the century as a reward for his perseverance.

Meanwhile, in Pune J&K had regrouped to post 180/3 at stumps on the third day. Salman knows the job is not done yet. "The morning session (on Tuesday) will be vital. There will be due, and if we make most of the first couple of hours, it will be great," Salman said. He thinks a little over 250 might be a good chase. "This is a five-dayer, so the lead will not be much of a factor. We must aim to bundle them out early and then chase it down," Salman said. Kerala have a huge task in front of them with two days remaining, but luckily, they have a selfless, ever-reliable batter ready to deliver when called upon.