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As Jammu and Kashmir scripted history by clinching thier maiden Ranji Trophy title, skipper Paras Dogra was overcome with emotions after winning the match and was at a loss for words, calling it the biggest moment of his cricketing journey.
Playing their first-ever Ranji final, Jammu and Kashmir were crowned champions by virtue of their massive 291-run first-innings lead, a gap that proved insurmountable for the eight-time champions Karnataka, led by Devdutt Padikkal on Saturday. Shubam Pundir was awarded the player of the match for his brilliant innings of 121 runs off 247 balls in the first innings. The batter laid the foundation and helped J-K clinch their first-ever Ranji Title. "I just can't explain, to be honest. I don't have any words right now. At this time, it's just the biggest thing right now in my life, and I have a lot of gratitude for it. To be honest, I have been lucky to be with JKCA, and the guys have been phenomenal," he said after the match. Dogra credited not just the playing XI but the entire squad for the triumph. "They have been excellent, and it's not about the 11, like 14, 15 guys, if you'll see, they have been tremendous. They have been putting their hand up, and they have been performing really well. They are really keen to win the matches, and from the beginning, they have been 100% sure that we're gonna win this," he stated. Player of the Match Shubham Pundir described the achievement as surreal and a fairytale for the region. "It still feels surreal. It feels like a fairytale. But I think for our region, for all the players, and for the management, this is a huge achievement. Everyone has worked so hard for so many years, so I think this is a great accomplishment," he said. Pundir revealed that the team's approach in the final was focused on spending time on the crease rather than chasing a specific score. "The aim was to bat as long as possible. Our plan was ideally to aim for 500-600 runs. But more than the exact number of runs, the focus was on batting for as long as we could. We tried to build a long innings," he added. Explaining his individual strategy, he added: "I think my plan was to see off the new ball as much as possible -- play straight and safely early on, and then look to attack the spinners. That's what the wicket demanded. There was some movement with the new ball, so the idea was to get through that phase. After that, there wasn't much assistance for the spinners," he concluded. Coming to the match, in the first two days, J-K's batters showed relentless discipline. Led by a masterful 121 from Shubham Pundir and contributions from Yawer Hassan (88 runs), captain Paras Dogra (70 runs), Abdul Samad (61 runs), Kanhaiya Wadhawan (70 runs) and Sahil Lotra (72 runs), J&K amassed a massive first-innings total of 584 runs. Despite J-K's dominance, pacer Prasidh Krishna claimed figures of 5/98 in 34.1 overs, standing out as the lone bowler who impressed for Karnataka. Karnataka, despite boasting a lineup of international stars including KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Devdutt Padikkal, and Karun Nair, crumbled under the pressure of the scoreboard. Only Mayank Agarwal offered significant resistance with a valiant 160, but his effort was lonely. Karnataka were bowled out for 293, conceding a massive 291-run lead to Jammu and Kashmir. The star of the show with the ball was J-K's Auqib Nabi, whose clinical 5/54 in 23 overs decimated the Karnataka middle order and effectively sealed the fate of the match by Day 4. Batting again, J-K were powered by an unbeaten 160 by Qamran Iqbal and 101 not out by Sahil Lotra, as Paras Dogra declared the innings on 342/4 on Day 5, with J-K leading by 633 runs, as the entire squad stormed into the field in celebration. (ANI)
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