Samiullah, Adil, Obaid steal show as J&K gains 1st innings lead

Excelsior  Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 30: Speedster Samiullah Beigh, opener Adil Reshi and wicketkeeper Obaid Haroon stole the show with their brilliant performances and the trio alongwith a superb bowling display by lanky medium fast bowler Ramdayal Punia helped Jammu and Kashmir to gain vital first innings lead and put the team in a commanding position to eye an outright victory over visitors Kerala in the Ranji Trophy Group-C match at GGM Science College Hostel Ground, here today.
J&K were comfortably placed at 111/1 with a total lead of 186 runs including the first innings lead of 75 runs at the draw of stumps on day-3 today.
Earlier, resuming from an overnight score of 184/2, the unconquered pair of dependable V Jagadeesh and rock solid R Prem continued their brilliance and took the score to 235 for 3, before left-arm spinner Waseem Raza plotted dismissal of Jagadeesh at his individual score of 106 runs. Then it was Samiullah Beigh and Ramdayal Punia all the way as they got purchase from the wicket by bowling in good areas, with nagging line and teasing length to dismiss the rivals for 302 runs to help J&K gain crucial first innings lead. Apart from Jagadeesh’s magnificent ton off 218 balls, studded with 16 delectable boundaries, it was in form batsman R Prem, who scored fabulous 86 runs off 240 balls with 13 crispy boundaries. For J&K, Samiullah Beigh scalped 4 important wickets in his 24 overs by conceding 76 runs, while Ramdayal and Mohd Muddasir bagged 2 wickets each and Waseem Raza got one. However, the highlight of the innings was the superb display of wicket-keeping skills by Obaid Haroon, who took 5 brilliant catches and shared a run-out with acrobatic Hardeep Singh.
J&K are in a commanding position as they enjoy a lead of 186 runs with 9 wickets in hand and a day’s play left in the match. J&K can make a match of it and eye for a victory if they manage a lead of around 300 runs after playing first 20 overs tomorrow. Though, one hardly saw any wear and tear in the wicket, yet cricket being the game of glorious uncertainties, any thing can happen on any given day.
At stumps, Adil Reshi was unbeaten on 68 off 80 balls with 9 power-packed boundaries and Bandeep Singh was on 13 off 47 balls including 2 fabulous fours J&K have lost make-shift opener  Obaid Haroon for 24 runs.
J&K team is being accompanied by Abdul Qayoom as coach, Sumit Sharma as manager, Iqbal as trainer and Ijaz as physio, while the team has been selected by a panel of senior selectors including Abdul Rouf, Shiban Lal Trakroo, Shahid Parvez, Iqbal Shah and Tilak Singh.

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