Nabi hits season tally of 60 as J&K edge closer to historic win

Around half past two on Friday afternoon, a section of kids in the Hubballi stadium broke into an impromptu chant "Jeetega bhai Jeetega, Karnataka jeetega." It was an attempt to bring alive some hope, but the show of confidence seemed to have come a bit too late. Jammu & Kashmir had stretched their lead to 350 by then, with seven wickets still in hand on a surface offering little to bowlers—all but sealing the fate of the Ranji Trophy final.

Earlier in the day, Mayank Agarwal and Kruthik Krishna stretched Karnataka's resistance for nearly an hour, adding 69 for the sixth wicket. Boundaries were not easy to come by against the defensive field. A tricky decision to adjudge Krishna leg-before against Sahil Lotra's offspin proved decisive. The batter reviewed, but with inconclusive evidence, the third umpire couldn't overturn it.

As soon as the new ball was taken, Auqib Nabi returned to provide potency. Vidyadhar Patil was in trouble, but Mayank looked assured against the moving ball. However, Sunil Kumar struck from the other end, getting a nip-backer to take Patil's edge. Mayank enjoyed some luck—a dropped edge raced away for a boundary to bring up his 150. He continued to take on the pacers, but Nabi had the last laugh, trapping him leg-before with an inswinger.

Vyshak hit a few lusty blows and Shikhar Shetty survived a dropped catch, but overhauling J&K's first-innings score was well out of sight. Nabi had Shetty beaten on the inside edge and trapped leg-before to bag his 16th first-class fifer and his 60th wicket of the season, becoming the tournament's highest wicket-taker. Prasidh was caught at mid-on in the next over to wrap up Karnataka's innings.

Three overs before lunch, with a 291-run lead, Jammu & Kashmir had firmly placed one hand on their maiden Ranji Trophy. In the remaining three overs, Karnataka promised to fight. Prasidh Krishna cleaned up Yawer Hassan, and Shubham Pundir was caught behind off Vijaykumar Vyshak. The lead had swelled to 302, but with five sessions remaining, the eight-time champions had incentive to attack.

However, that hope dwindled soon. Even as pacers beat the bat, success eluded them. Qamran Iqbal, who missed out in the first innings, kept the bowlers at bay after lunch—in the company of Paras Dogra, Abdul Samad, and Sahil Lotra—even if he looked out of sorts against high pace. A casual late loft over the cordon brought up his half-century. "I've seen him from Under-19 days, he bats like that. He will bat like and score centuries," Lotra noted.

The pitch, which had promised to break and assist spinners, offered little. Shreyas Gopal's attempts to use footmarks had minimal impact. With the old ball, tired seamers couldn't create much threat. Desperation showed as Karnataka compulsively reviewed decisions, burning two by the 23rd over.

As J&K cantered along, stretching the lead past 450, Karnataka brought fresh vigour to their bowling in the last 45 minutes. Spurred by some chat with Qamran, Vyshak found extra gas and bowled one of his fastest overs. Qamran added to the heat, gesturing that a bouncer seemed like it came from a spinner. Unfortunately for Karnataka, all the chatter came too late. Qamran moved to 94, and the lead stretched to 477 by stumps on Day 4.

While runs flowed on the ground, security protocol discussions were underway in the stadium office to host Jammu & Kashmir's chief minister on the final day, anticipated to be historic. But Karnataka have not given up hope, Mayank stated. There is one more day to fight, and inspiration isn't too far away—he recalled chasing down 252 in 27.5 overs against Punjab to secure a thrilling win and a knockout spot.

Even as a celebratory mood kicks in for Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka are up for a late fight again.

Brief Scores:
Jammu & Kashmir 584 (Shubham Pundir 121, Yawer Hassan 88; Prasidh Krishna 5-98) & 186/4 (Qamran Iqbal 94*; Prasidh Krishna 2-42) lead Karnataka 293 (Mayank Agarwal 160; Auqib Nabi 5-54, Sunil Kumar 2-51) by 477 runs.