Ranji Trophy 2014: Jammu and Kashmir upset Mumbai by four wickets at Wankhede stadium

The visitors lost overnight unbeaten batsman Bandeep Singh quite early, but then were aided by small partnerships
that steered them home.

First innings centurion Shubhum Khajuria made 78 in 227 minutes before he was fourth out when the side needed 66 more runs for victory.

He added 52 runs with Ian Chauhan (30) in 175 balls for the third wicket to set the side on way to the target after
the early loss of overnight not out batsman Bandeep Singh.

Later, Khajuria put on 53 invaluable runs with his captain Parveez Rasool (32) in 63 balls for the fourth wicket to bring J and K closer to the target.

Though both departed at the same score of 171, Hardeep Singh (41 not out) guided the team towards the target by
adding 44 runs for the sixth wicket with Waseem Raja.

After the latter’s dismissal, Hardeep, who batted for 104 minutes and hit four fours, added 22 runs for the unconquered seventh wicket with wicketkeeper Obaid Haroon (9 not out) to dash Mumbai’s hopes.

“To beat Mumbai in Mumbai is a great achievement. Our graph has been rising steadily over the last 2-3 years, but we were told playing in elite division is different. We have answered that question,” said Rasool beating the heavyweights in their very first clash in 80 years of the tournament.

Team coach Sunil Joshi said for the first time in the last 20 years, he saw Mumbai batsmen “showing vulnerability against pace bowling.”

“Our morale is up after this victory,” said Rasool who rued that J&K would not be playing a single home match this season.

“We don’t have any home advantage this season. Three out of our four victories last season were clinched at home,” the J&K captain, the first cricketer from the state to have represented India, said.

“We have done so well despite lack of sufficient preparations (due to unprecedented floods in the Kashmir valley) which shows we have good potential. Due to the floods, the Srinagar boys, including myself, had a 15-day camp at
Nagpur while the Jammu boys trained at their home town,” said all-rounder Rasool.

Asked what he has told his teammates after his experiences with India and India A teams, Rasool said, “I have
told them to inculcate self-belief.”

Rasool also praised the batting of Khajuria as “commendable.”

Asked whether he was worried about the lower order batting carrying the team home after the first innings collapse when they lost the last five wickets for one run, he said, “We are not as bad as was made out by that happening.”

Coach Joshi ascribed the victory to “team effort.”

“We did well in the one-day tournament (held before Ranji Trophy). Our bowling is good. We need to work some more on our batting. Playing away from home will give the team more exposure,” said the former India left arm spinner.

Brief scores: Mumbai 236 and 254 lost to J&K 254 and 237 for 6 (Shubham Khajuria 78, Ian Chauhan 30, Parveez Rasool 32, Hardeep Singh not out 41, Obaid Haroon not out 9; Vishal Dhabolkar 2 for 67) by four wickets

Karnataka beat TN

Aravind Sreenath and Vinay Kumar’s incisive spells helped Karnataka pull off a stunning 285-run win over arch-rivals Tamil Nadu in what turned out to be a thrilling Ranji Trophy A Group encounter.

Sreenath had a very good run in the match by hauling eight wickets after conceding 61 runs in two innings. The second innings figure of 4/9 stood out as the best in the whole match. In the first innings too, he had picked up four wickets, giving away 52 runs.

Chasing 368 on the fourth and final day, Tamil Nadu batsmen did not have an answer for quality bowling from Sreenath and Vinay, who rattled the visitors using the morning conditions to their advantage by scalping four wickets before lunch was taken.

The hosts now have six points with this magnificent win.

Madhya Pradesh, Railways play out draw

Railways walked away with three points from their Group A encounter against Madhya Pradesh after the first innings lead proved crucial following a draw between the two sides in the Ranji Trophy tournament.

Madhya Pradesh had set Railways a target of 212 after being bowled out for 310 in their second innings. The home
team was 43/3 in 20 overs when stumps were drawn for the day.

In the final analysis, man of the match Arindam Ghosh’s 120-run knock in the first innings proved to be crucial as
that had helped Railways gain the upperhand with a 99-run lead after packing the visitors off for 181.

Brief Scores: Madhya Pradesh: 181 and 310 Railways: 280 and 43/3 in 20 overs.