:Jammu and Kashmir maiden Ranji Trophy final will go down in the annals of history in domestic cricket.
As soon as Vanshaj Sharma sent Mukesh Kumar soaring over long-on for a six, Jammu and Kashmir players erupted in celebrations. They made it to their maiden Ranji Trophy final, defeating Bengal by six wickets in their backyard in Kalyani, and against a high-quality fast bowling attack comprising Mohammed Shami, Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar. It is an achievement that will go down in the annals of history in domestic cricket.
Jammu and Kashmir has been making waves in domestic cricket in the last couple of seasons and reached the quarter-finals last year. This time, however, they returned with more fire, more passion and depth in their ranks.
Jammu and Kashmir on top
Having beaten Madhya Pradesh in the quarter-finals, J&K had their task cut out against two-time champions Bengal. It was a thrilling final played out in front of Bengal’s home crowd and featured some superb performances from both sides, but J&K came out on top with courage and conviction in their abilities.
They were knocking on the doors of victory last evening as Jammu and Kashmir pacer Auqib Nabi’s superb all-round show (42 runs and 4/36) on the second day had taken them close to their historic win.
First innings
Bengal had scored 328 in their first innings and bowled out J&K for 302, taking a crucial first-innings lead of 26 runs. However, Nabi, who scored a valiant 42 off 54 balls in the lower order, came back to jolt Bengal’s batting with a brilliant spell that saw the home team collapse to 99 all out in their second innings. It was a big opportunity for J&K batters to see through the chase, but with Shami and Akash Deep in their ranks, they had to dig deep and sometimes take risks to score.
Good batting
On the fourth morning, J&K, while chasing a modest 126, started from an overnight 43/2, and their batters negotiated the tough phases, playing bold cricket. At the other end, Shami, who had rocked the opposition in the first innings with eight wickets, was breathing fire. Akash Deep was equally potent, getting the ball to move both ways, which made scoring difficult. Slips were ready to pouch the edges.
Brilliant knock
Shami bowled Shubham Pundir early to give hope to Bengal. J&K captain Paras Dogra added 21 runs with Vanshaj before edging an Akash Deep delivery to wicketkeeper, who took a good diving catch. It was here that Abdul Samad came and played a brilliant counterattacking knock of 30 off 27 balls with three sixes.
Vanshaj, at the other end, kept rotating the strike and soaked in the pressure. Auqib Nabi was the game-changer both with the bat and ball (9/23 in the match) and was awarded Man of the Match. He had also taken 12 wickets in the quarter-final and is the joint highest wicket-taker (55 wickets) with Uttarakhand’s Mayank Mishra.
Very good feeling
“It’s a very good feeling. We were positive throughout the match. We have done a lot of hard work this season and the entire team and coaches have put in a lot of effort,” said Nabi after receiving his award.
Nabi spoke about the mindset of the team. “Last season we lost in the quarter-finals. We have been talking about this (in the dressing room) from the first day that we have to win. We have done all the hard work and we deserve it.”
EOM
