New Delhi: Jammu & Kashmir are inching closer to history. They first gave themselves a good chance by scoring 584 in the first innings. Then, they bowled Karnataka out for 293. Now, with the first innings lead secure, they are calmly shutting the door on the opposition.
At Stumps on Day 4, J&K are batting at 186/4 and have buried their opponents with a massive lead of 477.
Earlier in the day, Auqib Nabi registered his seventh five-for of the season, surpassing Uttarakhand’s spinner Mayank Mishra to become the leading wicket-taker of the season with 60 wickets.
With the well-set Mayank Agarwal batting at 130 overnight, Karnataka had steadied the ship with wicket-keeper Kruthik Krishna by his side. But after Agarwal’s dismissal, Karnataka’s innings ended rather quickly.
J&K needed a herculean batting effort from the get-go to match Karnataka’s batting effort and two of its batting heroes who delivered had underwhelming seasons until the day of the final.
In the first innings, Yawer Hassan scored 88. In the second innings, Qamran Iqbal – coming in for the injured Shubham Khajuria – stands tall with a century in sight.
Karnataka started well, reducing J&K to 11/2 as last innings centurion Shubham Pundir (1) and Hassan (4) walked back. Iqbal’s (94*) unorthodox technique disrupted the opposition bowlers’ rhythm and he capitalised on the loose deliveries to score his seventh first-class fifty. He used the space inside the crease to give himself room, carting bowlers for boundaries. He added 61 runs for the third wicket with captain Paras Dogra and then added 73 for the fourth wicket with Abdul Samad as J&K sped away.
At one point, pacer Vysakh Vijayakumar verbally engaged with Iqbal, requiring the intervention of on-field umpire Rohan Pandit. Sahil Lotra, unbeaten on 16, is batting alongside Iqbal.
Earlier in the day, Nabi starred with 5/54 to bowl out Karnataka for 293 turning the match on its head as J&K grabbed an innings lead of 291 runs. Agarwal and Kruthik Krishna (36), seemed to be on course while adding over 80 runs for the sixth wicket. Agarwal’s valiant 160 off 266 remained the highlight of the innings but Nabi ensured it was confined.
But before Nabi could deal their biggest blow, Lotra removed Kruthik, trapping the wicketkeeper batter leg before even though the ball might have made a slight contact with the bat. After the second new ball was taken, left-arm pacer Sunil Kumar ousted Vidyadhar Patil as J&K maintained their upper hand.
“He deserves the credit and the wickets,” Agarwal said of Nabi in the press conference. “I think the good thing he’s done is challenge batsmen, challenge the batsmen’s edges on both sides, and also keep very tight lines. So, it keeps you under pressure.”
With one-and-a-half days of play still remaining in the match, Karnataka would have hoped to bowl the visitors out cheaply and mount a fourth innings chase. As J&K heads to the final day, they are eyeing a historic win. It is the first time in 66 years that they have reached the Ranji Trophy final, and they may become champions on their first attempt.
“This is just the beginning, we are all happy and excited, this is the first time we are playing in the finals, this is a very proud moment for us,” said J&K’s Lotra. “We are just moving forward, the hard work we have put in this year, the discipline we have shown, this is the result of that.”
When asked about the changes J&K coach Ajay Sharma has brought into the team, Lotra said, “I think the main thing is discipline, because for the past four years, we have always had a three-month camp before the season. We play everywhere, whether it is in Kashmir or Jammu, we also go out to play tournaments like Buchi Babu.”
