Mumbai– Unfancied J&K continued their glorious run in the ongoing Ranji Trophy, beating star-studded defending champions Mumbai by five wickets in a Group A league match to almost confirm their knock-out berth. It was after a decade that J&K beat the 42-time champions, having last won in December 2014 at the Wankhede Stadium.
It wasn’t a mean achievement with Mumbai squad comprising of India Test and ODI skipper Rohit Sharma, former captain and 80 plus Test match veteran Ajinkya Rahane, ODI regular and IPL winning skipper Shreyas Iyer, star opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, seasoned all-rounder Shardul Thakur and off-spinner Tanush Kotian.
Rohit’s return to Ranji Trophy after a decade yielded only 31 runs across two knocks and he looked very much out of form, shaky and not ready to grind it out for long hours.
J&K now have 29 points from six games and lead group A with a match left against Baroda where they need to get just one point.
On the day, needing 205 to win, opener Shubham Khajuria (45) and one down Vivrant Sharma (38) laid the foundation with a 75 runs stand for the second wicket.
IPL star Abdul Samad (24 off 20 balls) smashed five boundaries but it was left-handed Abid Mushtaq (32 not out) who finished the match with a couple of huge sixes off Kotian. The first one was down the ground and the second was a winning hit over ‘Cow Corner’ as the dug-out celebrated wildly.
The Indian skipper Rohit was seen applauding the J&K players even as he tried to hide his disappointment.
The Mumbai camp looked desolate despite a fine fightback in the second innings that saw them get to 290, thanks to Shardul Thakur’s (119) brilliant rear-guard hundred.
J&K medium pacers — Yudhvir Singh (7 wickets), Umar Nazir Mir (6 wickets) and Auquib Nabi (6 wickets) — scalped 19 out of the 20 Mumbai wickets on a BKC track that offered some help during first two mornings, largely due to the underlying moisture.
All J&K needed were two good partnerships – one they got because of Khajuria and Vivrant. Also opener Yawer Hassan (24) got some quick runs. The second one was 48 runs for the sixth wicket between Abid and Kanhaiya Wadhawan (19 not out).
Brief Scores:
Mumbai 120 and 290 (Shardul Thakur 119, Tanush Kotian 62, Auqib Nabi 4/80, Yudhvir Singh 3/63).
J&K 206 and (target 205) 207/5 (Shubham Khajuria 45, Vivrant Sharma 38, Abid Mushtaq 32 not out, Shams Mulani 4/54). J&K won by 5 wickets. Points: J&K 6; Mumbai 0.
CM Abdullah Congratulates J&K After Beating Mumbai
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, on Saturday, congratulated the senior men’s cricket team for beating defending champions Mumbai by five wickets in a Ranji Trophy game.
This is the second time that J&K team has defeated the 42-time champions in latter’s backyard.
The pacers Umar Nazir Mir, Auqib Nabi and Yudhvir Singh shared 19 Mumbai wickets amongst themselves to set up the victory and the target of 205 was achieved without much fuss.
“What a brilliant achievement by the J&K Ranji Trophy team. To defeat the defending champions & that too in their own backyard is a memorable achievement. I send my congratulations to the players, the management & support staff. We are all very proud of you,” the CM said in a post on his official handle on X.
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