LUCKNOW, Oct. 15 -- For Zeeshan Ansari, returning to the Ranji Trophy after six years away from red-ball cricket was always going to be a test beyond his skills. It demanded patience, rhythm and, above all, belief. The Lucknow leg-spinner answered all three in Uttar Pradesh's season opener against Bihar, scoring a fluent half-century and delivering with the ball as UP sealed an emphatic innings victory in Rajgir. Ansari had not bowled with the red ball in a competitive match for six years when he was picked to the Ranji side. A two-week training stint at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, under the watchful eyes of legendary leg-spinner Anil Kumble, proved decisive. Working on his action, release and red-ball lengths helped Ansari regain the confidence to attack batters again. The results came quickly. "Kumble Sir gave me a chance to learn a lot at the camp. I got to learn a lot from him and I applied a lot of things here like how to bowl around the wicket, what the rhythm should be, what the run-up should be. He told me everything very well," said Ansari on Wednesday, a day after finishing with five wickets in the match. Looking ahead, the spinner said his approach remains simple: keep working, stay prepared, and make the most of every opportunity. "I am working hard. Wherever I get a chance, it is important to do well," he said. "Even here, I make plans so that I don't get into trouble." On his return to red-ball cricket, he said he had really worked hard for this. "The bowling was going well. I was also bowling well in the UP Premier League. I was feeling that I'll do well if I play, and if I take a wicket, it will be easier in the upcoming matches. So, it increased my confidence." He said the fundamentals remained the same between white-ball and red-ball cricket. "There was a slight change in rhythm because you have to bowl slowly and continuously. The team is in a good mood. All the jokes are going on," he smiled. "We finished the match in three days."...