Hubballi (Karnataka): They waited nearly seven decades for it. And when the day came, they put their best foot forward. Jammu and Kashmir, playing their first Ranji Trophy final ever, have pushed the star-studded Karnataka side on the backfoot on day 1, scoring 284 for the loss of just 2 wickets.
The luck went J&K’s way at the toss of the coin, and they chose to bat against the eight-time champions. Disciplined batting, a hard-fought century, and Prasidh Krishna’s fiery spells with the ball for Karnataka stitched together a powerpacked opening day at the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) Rajnagar Stadium in Hubballi.
The pitch was visibly flat, and the result was evident as the game concluded on Day 1. J&K put up 284 runs at the loss of just two wickets.
“It is the best start we have ever got this whole season. We have never had early partnerships like this. No complaints,” J&K skipper Paras Dogra told ThePrint.
Dogra was forced to retire hurt on 9 off 48 balls after being struck on the shoulder by a Prasidh Krishna delivery. “The pain is there, but it will be fine. I will bat tomorrow.”
Dogra further said the pitch is “quite flat and it will only show some turn by the third or fourth day” so their approach as of now is to bat as long as they can.
Elegant drives, powerful strikes, and a memorable milestone 💯
🎥 Glimpses of Shubham Pundir's phenomenal century as he marches on in the #RanjiTrophy Final!
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“First innings’ runs will make quite a difference, and the result also comes from the first innings only. Let’s see how it goes. But, another 250-300 minimum is our target for tomorrow,” he added.
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‘Not enough’
Shubham Pundir was the backbone of J&K’s innings on day 1. He reached a composed century off 186 deliveries, sealing the milestone in style by launching the final ball of Shikhar Shetty’s 75th over for a six. His innings, which included 10 fours and two sixes, was a testament to patience and resolve as he battled Karnataka’s attack for 295 minutes.
In a post-day media interaction, Pundir, like his idol Virat Kohli, said he wants more. “Not enough,” he said, summarising his team’s day 1.
“It’s a good score for bay 1, but we are targeting 650-700,” he said. He described the pitch as a “little slow”.
Well begun is half done. Very encouraging start by the J&K Ranji team. A century from Pundir and two half centuries from Hassan & Samad have laid a strong foundation. The only worry was watching batter Dogra injured after scoring only 9. Hope he makes a quick recovery. Now all of…
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) February 24, 2026
Pundir also built two crucial partnerships. He first anchored a 139-run stand for the second wicket with Yawer Hassan Khan (88 off 150 balls) before adding a further partnership 105 runs with Abdul Samad (52* off 67) to consolidate the innings. The duo batted till end of the third session.
“I was just following the process. I was in the mind that this is the last match, so a last effort, a good effort, that was it. And I was just reacting to the ball,” Pundir said.
After they chose to bat, J&K did not have an ideal start. Qamran Iqbal, who was brought in the XI in place of Vanshaj Sharma, edged a Prasidh Krishna short-length delivery to second slip, where KL Rahul took a safe catch, reducing the visitors to 18/1.
Krishna struck again in a similar way. But before Khan edged one to Rahul, he had already scored 88. These were the only two wickets to fall on the day.
Bowling without discipline
In contrast to their ruthless semi-final performance, Karnataka’s bowlers lacked discipline, conceding loose deliveries that were dispatched to the boundary.
Beyond Krishna’s disciplined spell, their bowling lacked sharpness. While the pacer maintained control, giving 36 runs in 16 overs, others like V. Patil, Shikhar Shetty and Shreyas Gopal leaked runs.
Vijaykumar Vyshak showed some discipline, giving just 25 runs in 18 overs. But overall, Karnataka’s bowling struggled to fully exploit the conditions, despite taking the early wicket.
For the final bout, hosts Karnataka continued with their winning team formula from the knock-out games, J&K, surprisingly made two changes. Apart from Iqbal, they also brought in Sahil Lotra in place of Shubham Khajuria.
For the record, Karnataka has always had a dominance over J&K. They have met four times in the Ranji Trophy previously, and Karnataka have won on all occasions.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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