Ranji Trophy final: Pundir, Hassan make Karnataka bowlers toil on Day 1

After losing the toss, Karnataka captain Devdutt Padikkal was confident his decision to bowl would prove favorable. However, by stumps on Day 1, Jammu & Kashmir had marched to 284 for 2, built on Shubham Pundir's unbeaten century and half-centuries from Yawer Hassan and Abdul Samad, outsmarting Padikkal's initial assessment.

Early moisture offered some assistance to Karnataka's pacers, but the new-ball pair failed to consistently test the batters on the stumps, instead bowling outside the off-stump channel. The first breakthrough came only after the first hour, when Prasidh Krishna, introduced as first change, induced an edge from Qamran Iqbal to second slip.

As the movement died down, Karnataka's plan to bowl wide proved counter-productive. Pundir and Hassan were content to leave those deliveries, and their partnership flourished. They attacked the spin duo of Shreyas Gopal and Shikhar Shetty, picking up quick runs. Pundir survived a stumping chance on 53.

The second wicket fell midway through the post-lunch session. Prasidh got a delivery to straighten and bounce, squaring up Hassan and finding the edge to second slip. Hassan fell for 88, 12 short of a century.

Prasidh was particularly lethal in his third spell on a tiring surface. His bouncer ploy troubled the batters, with one delivery zipping in to hit Paras Dogra between the shoulder and neck, requiring treatment. Dogra later retired hurt in the third session after being struck near the thumb by a rising delivery from Vijaykumar Vyshak.

With Dogra out, Abdul Samad joined Pundir and refused to be bogged down by the short-ball tactic. He took on the bowling, cracking three successive boundaries. Pundir attacked the spinners from the other end, bringing up his century with a six over deep mid-wicket.

The pair's calculated assault was aided by Karnataka's defensive field settings with the old ball. Karnataka chose not to take the second new ball, bowling the final seven overs with spinners, conceding 30 runs. Pundir and Samad stretched their unbeaten stand to 105, with Samad reaching his fifty in the penultimate over.

Brief Scores: Jammu & Kashmir 284/2 (Shubham Pundir 117*, Yawer Hassan 88, Abdul Samad 52*, Prasidh Krishna 2-36) vs Karnataka