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 8-9 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 (Thampi) would back me. And that certainly helped,” he said.

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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…”

Hailing from Thalassery, Nizar grew up admiring Akshay Chandran, and S. Sreesanth. Even when the going got tough, he did not think of quitting the game and moving to Dubai with his elder brother. “I had no other thoughts. It was only about cricket since I loved playing the game and I only found happiness in playing it. So thoughts of moving to Dubai or quitting the game never crossed my mind,” he said.

While some of his friends went on to play in the IPL, Nizar remained unsold in the auction this year. But the tournament remains his biggest motivation. “Playing in the IPL is the biggest motivation for me. I think if they can play, I am also capable of playing. I just want to stay calm, wait for my time,” he said.

While the innings against J&K remains one of his ‘best’, Nizar unwinds by watching reels on Instagram, and asked if he watches films of his namesake Salman Khan, he smiled and said, “I don’t watch movies. Even when it comes to watching Malayalam films, I rarely watch them…”