Andhra’s batsmen may not have deemed Aamir Aziz their biggest threat among the Jammu & Kashmir bowlers.
The left-arm spinner had taken six wickets from as many First Class matches after making his debut four years ago.
He nearly doubled that tally on Saturday, as his maiden five-wicket haul helped J&K take the all-important first innings lead in the Ranji Trophy Group C match at the Brabourne Stadium here on Saturday.
J&K goes into the final day with a lead of 110, with eight wickets intact.
Once Andhra went past the follow-on mark, it was always going to be mostly a battle for first innings points.
Chasing J&K’s 334, Andhra was very much in contention, with D.B. Ravi Teja (81, 279min, 184b, 9x4) and Ashwin Hebbar (38) doing an excellent job of rebuilding the innings through their seventh-wicket partnership.
But, they were separated by Aamir, who had Ravi caught well in the slip by Parveez Rasool. The 94-run stand thus ended at the stroke of tea. As did the Andhra resistance; it managed to lose its last four wickets for an addition of five runs.
It was Andhra’s second spectacular collapse of the day.
Resuming at the overnight 72 for two, Andhra slumped to 90 for five in the morning. Then A.G. Pradeep (47) joined Ravi and raised 66 for the sixth wicket.
Ravi sounded disappointed that his fine effort wasn’t enough to meet the team’s target. “I batted lower than I usually do as I was assigned to guide the lower order,” said the seasoned cricketer, who moved to Andhra this season after a long innings with Hyderabad.
“I was hoping my partnerships with Pradeep and Ashwin would give us the lead.”
But, of course, those hopes were destroyed by Aamir, who finished with five for 62 from 33 overs. “I am glad that I have been able to help my team take the first-innings lead,” he said.
“And, Maharashtra has once again proved lucky for me; I had taken seven wickets in a match in this State in junior cricket. I really enjoyed bowling today and senior spinner Parveez gave me some valuable tips.”
The scores:
Jammu & Kashmir — 1st innings: 334.
Andhra – 1st innings: K.S. Bharat c Rasool b Umar 31, D.B. Prashanth Kumar b Rasool 24, G.H. Vihari run out 19, Bhargav Bhatt c Beigh b Aamir 1, M.U.B. Sriram lbw b Aamir 3, D.B. Ravi Teja c Rasool b Aamir 81, A.G. Pradeep c Ian b Rasool 47, Ashwin Hebbar c Bisht b Aamir 38, D. Siva Kumar lbw b Rasool 2, B. Ayyappa b Rasool 0, P. Vijay Kumar (not out) 0; Extras (b-2, lb-4, nb-3): 9; Total (in 99.3 overs): 255.
Fall of wickets: 1-41, 2-70, 3-76, 4-76, 5-90, 6-156, 7-250, 8-255, 9-255.
J&K bowling: Saimulla Beigh 11-2-55-0; Ram Dayal 16-2-41-0; Umar Nazir 17-4-51-1; Aamir Aziz 33-9-62-5; Parvez Rasool 22.3-5-40-3.
Jammu & Kashmir — 2nd innings: Shubham Khajuria (batting) 13, Adil Reshi b Bhatt 3, Ian Dev Singh lbw b Bhatt 15; Total (for two wkts. in 18.5 overs): 31.
Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-31.
Andhra bowling: Bhargav Bhatt 9.5-2-16-2, D. Siva Kumar 2-2-0-0, Hanuma Vihari 3-0-9-0, D.B. Ravi Teja 2-1-2-0, P. Vijay Kumar 2-1-4-0.
