New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir continued their march towards a historic maiden Ranji Trophy title with another dominating day of cricket in the final against Karnataka at KSCA Hubli Cricket Ground, Hubli. J&K were already in a good position after a productive display on Day 1, which saw them score 284 for the loss of two wickets and after another run-filled day, the visitors have propelled themselves into a position of authority.
Before the umpires called for early stumps due to bad light, J&K reached 527 for 6 in 156 overs courtesy of another superb display by their batters, who piled more misery on the Karnataka bowling attack.
Six of their top seven have scored fifty or more runs, with Shubham Pundir slamming a magnificent hundred on Day 1. With more batting to come, including the more than capable Auqib Nabi, J&K are primed to add more to the hefty total on Day 3.
At Stumps, Sahil Lotra (57) and Abid Mushtaq (20) were unbeaten at the crease with an unbeaten 56-run partnership.
Paras Dogra (70), Abdul Samad (61), and Kanhaiya Wadhawan (70) all scored fifties in the middle order on a pitch that remains good for batting. While Karnataka is undoubtedly under the pump, they will be banking on the perfect batting conditions to give a strong reply. But first, they need to take the remaining four wickets as early as possible.
Prasidh Krishna was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets, while Shreyas Gopal, Vidyadhar Patil and Shikhar Shetty bagged a wicket each.
Dogra’s boorish behaviour overshadows J&K’s brilliant batting display
J&K’s prolific day was overshadowed by a controversial incident involving skipper Dogra, who intentionally head-butted Karnataka substitute KV Aneesh.
The 21-season Ranji veteran was captured on camera head-butting the silly point fielder Aneesh after hitting a fortunate boundary. The incident caught everyone by surprise and prompted senior Karnataka player Mayank Agarwal to interject and stand between the two.
It is still unclear why Dogra confronted Aneesh and butted on his helmet. Since it was an altercation that involved touching of opponents, Dogra is likely to face some sanctions from the BCCI match referee Narayan Kutty.