New Delhi, March 5: Fresh from ending a 67-year drought, Jammu & Kashmir’s Ranji Trophy champions met ICC Chairman Jay Shah here, hailing his pivotal role in boosting cricket back home during his BCCI Secretary days.
The BCCI shared on X: After their epic first-ever title grab, the Paras Dogra-led squad “expressed heartfelt desire” to share the joy with Shah, crediting his leadership for J&K’s rise before his Dec 2024 ICC switch. Shah graciously met them, offering congrats on scripting domestic cricket history.[? Wait, no tool use mentioned.]
In the drawn final vs. Devdutt Padikkal’s Karnataka, J&K clinched it on a whopping 291-run first-innings lead. Shubham Pundir’s masterful 121, plus 88 from Yawer Hassan, 70s from skipper Dogra, Abdul Samad, Kanhaiya Wadhawan, and Sahil Lotra powered a massive 584.
Karnataka folded for 293 despite Mayank Agarwal’s gritty 160—thanks to Aqib Nabi’s killer 5/54. J&K declared their second dig at 342/4 (Qamran Iqbal 160*) on Day 5, leading by 633; captains called it quits amid wild celebrations.
Pundir bagged Player of the Match; Nabi, with 55 wickets all season, took Player of the Series.
Prasidh Krishna’s 5/98 was Karnataka’s bright spot in a star-studded but star-crossed lineup (KL Rahul, Karun Nair et al).
