A first-innings lead of a solitary run, followed by a stubborn seventh-wicket stand in the fourth innings, helped Kerala pip Jammu & Kashmir and qualify for the semi-finals of the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy.
Kerala pipped Jammu & Kashmir in a thriller to join Gujarat, Mumbai, and Vidarbha as the fourth team still in contention for the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy final. This is the second time (other than 2018-19) they have reached the top four.
J&K, meanwhile, continue to wait for their maiden appearance at that stage. Their exit was even more heartbreaking because they went through eight matches in this edition without an outright defeat.
The match, between two teams based out of India’s extreme north and south, was played in Pune, not far away from the halfway line between the two. J&K were bowled out for 280 after Sachin Baby won the toss and opted to field. While ten J&K batters reached double figures, none of them made it to fifty as MD Nidheesh claimed 6-75.
Auqib Nabi (6-53) led J&K’s response, reducing Kerala to 11-3. Jalaj Saxena then chipped in with 67, but at 200-9, they seemed set to concede the all-important first-innings lead.
However, resistance came from Salman Nizar, who hit 12 fours and four sixes in his unbeaten 112. Basil Thampi resisted stubbornly for 35 balls to make 15, securing a one-run lead for Kerala. Had the teams been tied on the first innings, J&K (group topper with 35 points) would have qualified ahead of Kerala (second with 28).
J&K now had to win the match outright. Paras Dogra, their quadragenarian captain, stepped up with 132, while Kanhaiya Wadhawan chipped in with 64 and Sahil Lotra with 59. Nidheesh, meanwhile, had 4-89 to complete his maiden ten-wicket haul in first-class cricket. Dogra declared on 399-9, leaving Kerala to chase 399 or bat for about four sessions.
Kerala went to stumps at 100-2, and became 180-6 with well more than a session remaining in the game. A win seemed improbable when wicketkeeper Mohammed Azharuddeen joined Nizar. But the pair kept out J&K for 42.4 overs to draw the match, which was all Kerala needed to qualify.
Nizar (44 not out) and Azharuddeen (67 not out) added an unbroken 115, a new seventh-wicket record for Kerala against J&K: they eclipsed the 75 put on by Sanju Samson and KS Monish at Kalyani in 2016-17.
