Ranji Trophy: Ishan Kishan 2.0 rescues Jharkhand from a tricky situation against Tamil Nadu with ninth First-Class hundred

Left-arm seamer Gurjapneet Singh enjoyed the early part of the day, but it was Ishan who owned it at the end in the company of Sahil Raj (64 batting). When the captain walked out to bat in the first session, Tamil Nadu were well on top. After Gurjapneet provided the early break-through by castling Shikhar Mohan, left-arm spinner DT Chandrasekar – returning to the Ranji team after 3,604 days – claimed Kumar Suraj off his second delivery.

By the time Virat Singh departed just before lunch, Ishan had to survive a tricky little period. Against an attack missing two of its frontline tweakers – R Sai Kishore and S Ajith Ram – Ishan started cautiously as debutant off-spinner Hemchudeshan J teased him. But, he pressed the accelerator after the break and was on 41 off 54 deliveries when Jharkhand lost their sixth wicket. Tamil Nadu sensed they could go for the kill.

With Ishan being a natural stroke-maker, the hosts went on the offensive, hoping the left-hander would offer a chance. But he curbed his instincts and decided to grind it out.

“I was actually wanting to go for sixes,” Ishan admitted. “But the situation demanded otherwise. This comes with experience. When you play enough matches, you understand sometimes that singles are more important than sixes and over a period of time, your mindset changes. A partnership was important to make their bowlers tired,” Ishan said at the end of the day.

The memories of the recent outing for Rest of India in the Irani Cup also flashed in Ishan’s mind. In that game, he was looking good during his brief stay of 35, before he threw away his wicket going for a big shot. On Wednesday, in the Ranji Trophy opener, he knew he couldn’t repeat the mistake.

Looking at the bigger picture, having missed out on white-ball spot in the national set-up, a door opened for Ishan in the Test team when Rishabh Pant got injured in England. However, a freak injury of his own – he fell off a two-wheeler – meant N Jagadeesan, who is captaining Tamil Nadu here – boarded the plane and has since overtaken the Jharkhand player in the pecking order for wicketkeepers. It is now a make-or-break season for Ishan to remind the selectors that he is still around, and knocks like the one on Wednesday would definitely help.

Playing the situation

Ishan cut out the risks but kept the scoreboard ticking by finding a boundary here and there. Chandrasekar, with his slow left-armers, tempted him through the afternoon, but unless there was a risk-free option, Ishan hardly went aerial. A single off the 139th delivery he faced to long-on brought up his ninth First-Class century, which prompted just a raised bat.

“You make so many mistakes initially in your career and then later you realise the real meaning of experience. You have to be in the middle and only then you can change the game. I was checking the wind when the left-arm spinner was bowling. I really wanted to go hard against him. But looking at the scoreboard, six wickets down did not feel right for me. I did it once in Irani Cup and here in Ranji Trophy, where I’m the experienced and the only India player in the team, my job was to ensure we were batting at stumps,” Ishan said.

For a batsman who appeared to play only one way, Ishan showed he can bat in different gears. A couple of years back, he was sent home ahead of a Test series in South Africa when he requested a break. His failure to not turn up in the Ranji Trophy raised eyebrows with the selectors turning their backs on him.

Given the competition for spots in the Indian team, Ishan knows the odd good innings here and there won’t help him get his India spot back.

“At this stage, I need to be very smart. You need to understand the importance of the Ranji Trophy. You need to understand the importance of these matches when you play against big teams,” he said.

When asked what brought about the rapid change, Ishan responded curtly.

“Situation,” he said. “I do make mistakes, but I understand what the situation demands. When you just focus on being a good human being, everything falls in place,” he added.

Does he have any targets in mind this season to send a message or two?

“Whenever I go in with a target, I just do very badly. I just do something which is not important. So, let’s not keep any target this season. Just keep on batting. If you are in the middle, you will get as many runs as you want. That’s the only goal for me,” he signed off.

Brief scores: Jharkhand 307/6 (Ishan Kishan 125 batting, Sahil Raj 64 batting; Gurjapneet Singh 3/51) vs Tamil Nadu.