Returning to the colossal Narendra Modi Stadium – the venue of its historic semifinal thriller win from two seasons ago – Kerala will face a familiar challenge. It will need another towering performance to stand toe-to-toe with host Gujarat in the Elite Group C Ranji Trophy fourth-round match from Monday.

Coming into the contest after suffering a morale-shattering 287-run defeat to Bengal at home, Kerala will need to improve on all fronts. Gujarat, on the other hand, is coming off an underwhelming show on the road and will be eager to maximise its home advantage.

After opening the season with a 10-wicket bonus-point win against Odisha, Gujarat stuttered, conceding the first-innings lead to Delhi and Maharashtra away from home.

Captain Chintan Gaja was wary of Kerala’s spinners, who could be more than a handful on helpful conditions. “I reckon the surface will help spinners in the later stages of the match. So, obviously we need to bat well in the first innings. We need to be a little more consistent with our batting. Kerala has three good spinners, but we also have a balanced team. Siddharth Desai is in good form, and I expect him to lead our attack,’’ said Gaja.

Kerala’s defeat against Bengal exposed the team’s core limitations. A brittle opening pair and an inconsistent middle-order have hurt the side. The bowlers’ inability to polish off the opponent’s lower-order has become a recurring theme this season. Kerala must improve on these fronts.

Kerala captain Vishnu Vinod admitted that a collective team failure resulted in the reversal to Bengal, but he remained confident in his team’s ability to bounce back.

“Obviously, Gujarat is a good side, and they will come hard at us. However, we will look to play to our strengths and focus on executing the things within our control,’’ he said.