Jharkhand captain Ishan Kishan's 173 lead his team's recovery against Tamil Nadu on their Ranji Trophy opener in Coimbatore. Walking in with his side in trouble, Kishan played a measured innings to guide Jharkhand to 379 for 8 at lunch, on the second day. His knock, which came off 247 balls and included 15 fours and 6 sixes, reflected a maturity in the high-stakes season for the wicketkeeper.
The visitors found themselves in a difficult position at 157 for six after Tamil Nadu's bowlers, led by left-arm seamer Gurjapneet Singh, 3 for 51, made early inroads on a pitch with live grass. However, Kishan found a reliable partner in Sahil Raj, who scored his maiden First-Class fifty. The pair stitched together a crucial unbeaten 150-run partnership for the seventh wicket, frustrating the home team in the final session of the first day.
Speaking after the first day's play, Kishan explained the conscious decision to curb his natural instincts. "I was actually wanting to go for sixes. But the situation demanded otherwise," he said. "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." He noted that as the most experienced player in the side, his primary job was to ensure the team was still batting at stumps.
This innings comes at a time for Kishan, when he is aiming to get back into the Indian national team setup. After losing his place, a potential Test recall was thwarted by an injury from an e-bike accident, allowing his current opponent, Tamil Nadu captain N Jagadeesan, to move ahead in the pecking order. Acknowledging the pressure, Kishan stated, "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."
When questioned about his personal targets for the season, Kishan revealed he is adopting a more process-oriented approach, focusing on his time at the crease rather than specific run tallies. "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," he remarked. "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."
