WATCH | Jammu and Kashmir end 67-year-wait for maiden Ranji Trophy title

J‌ammu and Kashmir won its first ever Ranji Trophy in Hubli on Saturday after their summit clash with Karnataka ended in a draw with the visitors firmly in the ascendancy. Shubham Pundir took home the man of the match award for his century in the first innings while Auqib Nabi was named the player of the season for an incredible wicket tally of 61, nearly brekaing the record for most scalps by a pacer in a campaign.

Winning the toss and electing to bat first, J&K lost their first wicket early but struck back with a resounding 139-run stand between Yawer Hassan (88) and Shubham Pundir (121). Skipper Paras Dogra, Abdul Samad, Kanhaiya Wadhawan, and Sahil Lotra then further piled onto the hosts' misery with each notching up 60-plus scores, their contributions enough to take the side to a massive first-innings total of 584 afyter batting for over two days. With an outright result thus a distant possibility, Karnataka's only hopes of clinching a ninth title resided in overhauling the first-innings total but were struck a  big blow early when Auqib Nabi dispatched KL Rahul for 13. The pacer then capped his spell by scalping Karun Nair for a duck and making Ravichandran Smaran, the season's highest run-getter with 950, nick behind first ball as Karnataka collapsed to 57/4. Shreyas Gopal and Kruthik Krishna tried to resurrect their fortunes with a century stand but Nabi returned to run through the tail with his peers, bowling out the side for 293 and effectively securing victory. Nevertheless, the hosts threatened a remarkable turnaround with two quick wickets in the second innings but Qamran Iqbal batted for over two dyas for an unbeaten 160 while Lotra struck 101 to ensure no more hiccups.

The confirmation of a drawn game was met with jubilation in the J&K camp as the players and support staff rushed the field to embrace the two men in the middle, memorable scenes that will live in the annals of Indian cricketing history for posterity.