SRINAGAR: Auqib Nabi’s nine-wicket match haul and a counter-attacking 42 down the order have pushed Jammu and Kashmir to the brink of a historic maiden final in the Ranji Trophy, neutralising Mohammed Shami’s career-best eight-for-90 and leaving Bengal staring at elimination on home soil.
On a dramatic third day, Jammu and Kashmir bundled Bengal out for 99 in 25.1 overs, turning what had seemed a hard-fought semi-final into a one-sided march toward the title clash. Chasing a modest 126 for victory, the visitors reached 43 for two at stumps, needing just 83 more runs with two full days in hand.
The day had begun with Bengal sensing control. Resuming at 198 for five, Jammu and Kashmir were subjected to a relentless burst from Shami, who returned with figures of 8 for 90 from 22.1 overs in one of the finest spells of his first-class career. Operating largely in the mid-130 kph range and probing the fifth-stump channel with precision, he removed Abid Mushtaq and Kanhaiya Wadhawan to complete his third five-wicket haul of the season and the 15th of his 97-match first-class career.
At that stage, Bengal appeared poised to secure a decisive first-innings lead. Instead, Nabi flipped the script.
Already the leading wicket-taker of the season, Nabi showcased his all-round value with a brisk 42 off 54 balls, striking one six and five fours. Supported ably by No. 10 Yudhvir Singh, who made 33 from 42 deliveries, Nabi stitched together a 64-run ninth-wicket stand that dragged Jammu and Kashmir from 269 for seven to 302 all out. The late surge reduced the deficit to just 30 and shifted the momentum irreversibly.
If Shami ignited hope in the morning, Nabi extinguished it in the afternoon.
He struck with the first ball of Bengal’s second innings, trapping Sudip Chatterjee leg before wicket for a duck. The review offered no reprieve. Soon after, Sunil Kumar removed first-innings centurion Sudip Kumar Gharami for a three-ball duck, compounding Bengal’s misery as another review went in vain.
Bengal’s top order disintegrated. Captain Abhimanyu Easwaran managed just five before falling leg before to Nabi, a dismissal that further dented his record in knockout fixtures. The home side’s top three contributed a mere five runs in total, a collapse that defied the relative ease of the surface compared to earlier in the match.
Nabi finished with four for 36 from 10 overs in the second innings, adding to his first-innings five for 87 to complete a nine-wicket match haul. His season tally now stands at 55 wickets from 16 innings at an average under 13, underscoring his impact in Jammu and Kashmir’s campaign.
Sunil Kumar provided incisive support with four for 27 from 9.1 overs, using clever field placements, including a deep mid-wicket trap, to dismantle the middle and lower order. Yudhvir chipped in with two wickets as Bengal folded for 99 in little more than a session.
Earlier, Bengal had posted 328 in their first innings. Jammu and Kashmir responded with 302, built around Abdul Samad’s 82 and Paras Dogra’s 58, before the lower-order surge narrowed the gap.
Set 126 to win, Jammu and Kashmir lost Shubham Khajuria and Yawer Hasan to Akash Deep in quick succession. However, left-hander Shubham Pundir looked composed in his unbeaten 23 off 37 balls, while rookie Vanshaj Sharma, promoted to No. 4, remained steady on nine not out. The pair walked back to a standing ovation from their camp, with history within touching distance.
For Bengal, chasing a first Ranji title since 1989–90 and hoping to host the final, the collapse was as sudden as it was damaging. Despite Shami’s eight-wicket masterclass, their batting implosion has left them needing an extraordinary turnaround to deny Jammu and Kashmir a place in their first-ever Ranji Trophy final.
