At times you can do miracles if you believe in yourself: Nizar

Salman Nizar waited 9 years for his First-Class century, scoring back-to-back tons in Ranji Trophy quarterfinals.

Salman Nizar had to wait for more than nine years for his maiden First-Class century. And once it came in the final league fixture of the Ranji Trophy against Bihar last week, he carried that momentum into the quarterfinals and scored yet another ton — this time against Jammu and Kashmir.

While his innings brought Kerala back into the game, for Nizar, it was all about staying ‘positive’ and building his innings. “I have been playing First-Class cricket for 10 years, but I didn’t get any 100 in the last eight-nine years, so I was really working hard for that,” he said on Monday.

Resuming the day at 200 for 9, it was a challenge for Nizar to guide the team out of the woods, and by stitching a last-wicket partnership with Basil Thampi, Nizar ensured a one-run lead for Kerala. Before walking out to bat, he had long conversations with coach Amay Khurasiya and Jalaj Saxena, who scored a fifty. While Saxena advised him to hit out at the spinners, the coach told him to play freely. “He (Khurasiya) gave me a strong belief that we can do miracles. He told me that cricket is like that, at times you can do miracles if you believe in yourself. So, he asked me to hang in there and assured that Basil would back me. And that certainly helped,” he said.

Ever since making his debut in 2015, Nizar has been in and out of the Kerala team, but he did not give up. “At times, it was frustrating, but I contributed for the team with the 40s and the 50s, but I couldn’t convert those into big scores. So I was not happy with that, but now that the time is finally here, I’m happy,” he added.