291-run first innings lead helps take crown
*Qamran, Lalotra hit tons, Auqib takes 5 wickets
HUBBALLI, Feb 28: Jammu and Kashmir scripted an extraordinary tale of resilience in Indian domestic cricket to claim their maiden Ranji Trophy title by out-batting traditional heavyweights Karnataka here on Saturday, capping a glorious season that saw them tackle favourites and fellow upstarts with equal tact and confidence.
The bald facts will tell that J&K held the eight-time former champions to a draw punctuated by a 291-run first innings lead to lock the crown, an advantage they extended to 633 runs after scoring 342/4 in their second innings on the fifth and final day here.
Opener Qamran Iqbal’s second first-class hundred (160 not out) and Sahil Lotra’s maiden first-class ton (101 not out) added sheen to the historical occasion.
But the day was always meant to be more than just cold numbers, it was meant to tell the story of determination and the power of a dream that was more than six decades in the making.
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It was 67 years ago when Jammu and Kashmir made their debut in India’s premier domestic competition, which is now 92 years old.
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In the past, J&K had entered the quarterfinals in 2013-14, 2019-20 and 2024-25 seasons but succumbed to a train of cataclysmic events and their own frayed nerves.
But over the last five days here at the KSCA Stadium, they hardly resembled first-time final entrants, out-maneuvering a side brimming with India stars with consummate ease.
That Karnataka failed to take a single wicket on the fifth day after J&K resumed from overnight 186 for four will reinforce the dominance of the tourists in the final.
It was a team effort in its truest sense that led the lesser fancied side to the title.
Pacer Auqib Nabi was a towering presence in the final as he has been throughout this season, taking five wickets for the seventh time this season.
Lotra made a fifty and hundred, skipper Paras Dogra, who became the second batter to go past 10,000 Ranji Trophy runs, while Yawer Hassan, Abdul Samad and Kanhaiya Wadhawan made one half-century each.
They are not household names, perhaps, even in their own state. But this humble bunch produced a magnificent joint effort across 10 Ranji matches in the season that would put a blush on Atlas’ face.
After the current season began in silence in Srinagar following a whipping by Mumbai, Jammu and Kashmir’s glorious journey towards the title clash unfurled like a slow-breaking wave.
And nothing encapsulated J&K’s spirit better than the semifinal against Bengal at Kalyani.
Unlike in the final against Karnataka, they were thrown into turmoil after Bengal took the first-innings lead — small yet good enough to serve their purpose.
But Nabi bowled them back to contention, masterminding Bengal’s dismissal for 88 in the second innings. It, perhaps, made the J&K players aware of the awaiting destiny in Hubballi.
They embraced it gleefully.
Shubham Pundir scored a classy hundred, the foundation for J&K’s massive first innings total of 584 and the visitors hardly let the advantage slip.
Karnataka themselves had shown remarkable consistency since the beginning of the season, and a ninth Ranji Trophy title was taken for granted.
It was not a wrong notion either on account of their form and skill levels.
But the unsuspecting domestic heavyweight was swept off its feet by a flyweight, not by a knockout punch but by tactical superiority and game awareness.
Karnataka will ponder over the next few days where it all went wrong for them in the title clash, and nothing conveyed the dejection in their hearts than the sight of KL Rahul bowling a few overs.
Harsh views will be exchanged in the boardroom, and a few heads will roll.
But for now, the incredibly feel-good news of a J&K victory will cut across the entrenched lines of the territories socio-economic and political spheres.
We might just have witnessed the breaking down of some barriers at the sun-kissed Hubballi stadium, holding the power to move a whole new generation of youngsters to cricket and to sport in general.
Perhaps, there will be an infrastructure upswing in the area, as Nabi hoped during a recent chat with PTI — a cricket stadium in every district.
The historic moment came at 2.10pm, when both the skippers sitting inside a freshly-painted but modest dressing room here agreed to shake hands, sending the J&K camp into delirium.
There will be chaos within the team and across the snow-clad region, now. But this time, it will be more joyous in nature.
Meanwhile, Head coach Ajay Sharma said the Ranji Trophy triumph has helped Jammu and Kashmir to unearth new cricketing heroes, as absence of them had haunted him while playing legacy teams like Mumbai or Delhi.
“It’s a proud moment for the team, JKCA and all the Jammu and Kashmir people. It’s a dream come true. It’s been a long journey and we are very happy. I never thought that we could win the Ranji Trophy,” Sharma told reporters after the match.
“When you play against other teams, it’s very difficult to beat them. The way they played against Mumbai, Delhi, Bengal, MP, Hyderabad, Rajasthan … they were all former champions with a lot of experience and Test cricketers. We had no hero like them, but everybody has become a hero,” he added.
“The players who have played their part, now they have become heroes. They used to think that they are heroes only by playing IPL. But when you win this trophy your fortunes open up. The sky’s the limit now. Now, they understand the value of this trophy,” he said.
But J&K went through some tense moments ahead of the final as in-form Shubham Khajuriya and Vanshraj Sharma had to be benched because of injury.
J&K, however, found able backups in Qamran Iqbal and Vivrant Sharma.
“A day before the match, two of our main players, Shubham, who was a consistent performer, and Vanshraj were ruled out. We were confused about what to do. But in the end, we had to call in Vivrant and Iqbal.
“Iqbal…hats off to this guy. He had to catch a flight at 11.30 in the night and came here at 6 am. But he showed what he can do for the team in the second innings. He is a match-winner. He has his own style, but it always works for us,” he detailed.
On a lighter vein, Sharma said he has now been accepted as a coach in his family circle.
“I am also very emotional. I am quite happy for them. They have started calling me coach now. Manan (Sharma, Ajay’s son) used to play for Delhi before retiring. He is now calling me coach.
“I also have the support of my family. When you are away from home for 7-8 months, you get all the support from your family. My both sons, Nipun, Manan, Anchal are my daughter-in-law, and my wife, my mother, all of them supported me,” he noted. (PTI)
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