Watch, BEN vs J&K | Joy unbound as Jammu and Kashmir down Bengal to seal maiden Ranji Trophy summit clash

‌Jammu and Kashmir created history with a maiden entry into the summit clash of the Ranji Trophy, beating favourites Bengal by six wickets in Kalyani on Wednesday. After starting the fourth day from their overnight score of 43/2 at the Bengal Cricket Academy Ground, the visitors suffered early hiccups, losing Shubham Pundir and captain Paras Dogra with more than 50 runs still to get.

However, a calm Vanshaj Sharma and the big-hitting Abdul Samad ensured there were no further twists in the plot with an unbeaten 55-run stand for the fifth wicket. Auqib Nabi, who ended with a match haul of nine wickets, and his pace partner Sunil Kumar together picked up 16 of the total 20 Bengal wickets to ensure that his side was left with a target of 126 in the final innings, while also putting Bengal speedster Mohammed Shami’s career-best first-class figures of 8/90 in the first innings to the background.

Just as Vanshaj sealed the contest with a majestic straight six at the stroke of lunch, the players sprinted their way to the middle towards the unbeaten duo. While some among the excited lot jumped onto Vanshaj and Samad in jubilation, the others rushed to uproot the stumps. The J&K side, after beating Madhya Pradesh in the quarterfinal, continued their giant-killing act with a win over another heavyweight en route to creating some memorable moments.

Historic moments in Kalyani!