Jammu and Kashmir created history by winning their first Ranji Trophy.
Their final match against Karnataka ended in a draw, but they won by virtue of having the first-innings lead. Having amassed 584 in the first innings, courtesy of a century by Shubham Pundir and a handful of fifties from others, J&K bowled out the mighty Karnataka for 293. Mayank Agarwal notched a classy 160 but found little support elsewhere. Deciding not to enforce the follow-on, J&K batted again; they had a bit of a wobble in the beginning but regained composure to reach 342/4. They declared soon after lunch, and both captains opted to shake hands.
Abdul Samad, a regular in the IPL, showed maturity during this Ranji campaign and ended up with 748 runs—the most for J&K—at an average of 57.53. Their standout player, however, was Auqib Nabi, who took 60 wickets in the season at an average of 12.56 and an economy rate of 2.65. He has more than 100 wickets in the past two seasons combined.
Captain Paras Dogra, who was involved in a heated exchange with Karnataka’s substitute fielder K.V. Aneesh and had head-butted him, said after the match: “I cannot explain, and I don’t have any words. It is the biggest thing in my life. I have been lucky to be with JKCA. The guys have been phenomenal. Not just the 11, but the 14–15 guys; they have been putting their hands up. From the beginning, they were 100 per cent sure we would win this Ranji Trophy.”
This season, the team beat teams such as Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, and Bengal en route to their maiden final. And 67 years after their first appearance in the tournament, the men from Jammu and Kashmir have reached the summit of Indian domestic cricket.
BCCI President Mithun Manhas, once a player in and director of J&K cricket, said: “It has been an amazing journey, started in June 2021... This win is dedicated to all of the people back home and all ex-cricketers back home.”