Jammu & Kashmir have taken a step closer to their maiden Ranji Trophy triumph after finishing Day 4 in a dominant position at 186/4, leading Karnataka by 477 runs in the final at the KSCA Hubli Cricket Ground, Hubli. Auqib Nabi Dar (5/54) and Qamran Iqbal (94*) have placed their side in a commanding position as they stand on the verge of etching their names into the history books by lifting their first title.
On Day 4, Karnataka resumed their first innings on 220/5, with Mayank Agarwal unbeaten on 130. Sahil Lotra provided the first breakthrough of the day for J&K, trapping Kruthik Krishna (36) in front of the stumps. Later, Sunil Kumar dismissed Vidyadhar Patil (11 off 23) to expose Karnataka’s tail.
Auqib Nabi returned to compound the misery for the hosts, dismissing Mayank Agarwal (160) lbw. Nabi then removed Shikhar Shetty in his very next over to complete his 16th five-wicket haul in first-class cricket. Courtesy of this performance, Nabi also became the leading wicket-taker in the ongoing Ranji Trophy, with 60 wickets from 17 innings at an impressive average of 12.56, including seven five-wicket hauls this season.
Riding on his effort, Karnataka were bowled out for 293 in 93.3 overs, handing J&K a substantial 291-run first-innings lead. In the second innings, Jammu & Kashmir were rocked early as Prasidh Krishna shattered Yawer Hasan’s stumps in the second over, while Vijaykumar Vyshak dismissed first-innings centurion Shubham Pundir for 4 (10).
Qamran Iqbal anchors J&K’s second innings
However, Qamran Iqbal steadied the nerves in the J&K camp, stitching together a half-century partnership with captain Paras Dogra (16 off 59). Although the J&K skipper lost his stumps to Krishna, Iqbal held firm at one end and continued to extend his side’s advantage. He then forged another 73-run partnership with Abdul Samad (32 off 70) from 142 deliveries.
Iqbal brought up his half-century in the final session, consolidating J&K’s innings with a composed knock laced with five boundaries. The 24-year-old was just six runs short of completing his second first-class century when the umpires called stumps for the day. Iqbal (94*) and Sahil Lotra (16*) will resume J&K’s second innings on Day 5 as they aim to stretch the lead to an insurmountable margin for Karnataka.
