Kalyani, Feb 17 : Jammu and Kashmir moved to the brink of a historic first-ever Ranji Trophy final after a dominant all-round show led by Auqib Nabi against Bengal in the semi-final.
Nabi delivered a match-winning performance, claiming nine wickets in the game and scoring a crucial 42 runs lower down the order to tilt the contest firmly in J&K’s favour. Bengal were bundled out for just 99 in their second innings on Day 3, leaving the visitors with a modest target of 126 runs.
At stumps, Jammu and Kashmir were 43/2 in 13 overs, needing just 83 more runs with two full days remaining to seal a memorable victory.
Despite a brilliant effort from India pacer Mohammed Shami, who returned with career-best figures of 8/90, Bengal failed to capitalise. Shami’s relentless spell earlier in the day helped bowl out J&K for 302, but the home side collapsed dramatically in their second innings in a little over one session.
Resuming at 198/5, Jammu and Kashmir looked under pressure as Shami struck at regular intervals. He removed Abid Mushtaq and Kanhaiya Wadhawan to complete his third five-wicket haul of the season. However, just when Bengal seemed set to secure a commanding lead, Nabi changed the course of the match.
Batting at No. 9, Nabi played a counter-attacking knock of 42 off 54 balls, smashing one six and five boundaries. He found strong support in Yudhvir Singh, who contributed a valuable 33. The ninth-wicket pair added 64 crucial runs in quick time, reducing the deficit and shifting the momentum towards J&K.
Although Shami eventually wrapped up the innings with his outstanding 8/90, the damage had already been done.
In Bengal’s second innings, Nabi once again led from the front. He struck in his very first over, dismissing Sudip Chatterjee for a duck. Soon after, Sunil Kumar removed first-innings centurion Sudip Kumar Gharami cheaply, pushing Bengal further on the back foot.
The top order failed to respond under pressure. Bengal skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran managed just five runs before falling to Nabi. The home side’s batting line-up crumbled despite the pitch offering easier conditions compared to earlier in the match.
Nabi finished with impressive figures of 4/36 in the second innings, while Sunil Kumar provided strong support with 4/27. Yudhvir Singh also chipped in with two wickets as the pace attack shared all ten wickets.
With this performance, Nabi took his match tally to nine wickets and raised his season count to 55 wickets from 16 innings, underlining his consistency and impact throughout the campaign.
Chasing 126, Jammu and Kashmir lost early wickets as Akash Deep dismissed Shubham Khajuria and Yawer Hasan in quick succession. However, Shubham Pundir remained steady with an unbeaten 23, while rookie Vanshaj Sharma stayed solid at the other end on nine not out.
The unbeaten pair walked back confidently at stumps, knowing that history is within reach. For Bengal, the defeat now appears imminent unless they produce an extraordinary turnaround.
Jammu and Kashmir are now just 83 runs away from scripting a new chapter in their cricketing journey and entering the Ranji Trophy final for the first time.(KNS)
