Ranji Trophy: Jammu and Kashmir accuse Baroda of pitch tampering in must-win clash, BCA deny
The last two rounds of Ranji Trophy attracted much attention with the Indian stars featuring for several teams. However, controversy brewed in the clash between Jammu and Kashmir and Baroda with the former side accusing the home team of tampering with the pitch before 3rd day's play.
by Edited By: Aditya Kukalyekar · India TVControversy hit the ongoing round of the Ranji Trophy on Saturday (February 1) as Jammu and Kashmir refused to bat on day three against Baroda. J&K alleged that the pitch was tampered with overnight to help the home team, Baroda, to force an outright result in their favour. Notably, with Mumbai registering a bonus point win over Meghalaya, this clash has become a must-win at any cost for Baroda to ensure qualification for knockouts.
However, the Baroda Cricket Association (BCA) has denied the allegations stating that the case was only of pitch dampness, which is common during winter. Play didn't start for 1 hour and 25 minutes in the morning on Saturday and it needed the match referee Arjan Kripal Singh's intervention before J&K resumed their second innings at 10:55 AM IST.
J&K were 125/1 in their second innings leading by 205 runs when the play began and the umpires extended play by an hour beyond the scheduled close time to make up for lost time earlier in the day. The third day's play was dominated by the spinners with J&K losing eight wickets for 112 runs to be skittled for 284 runs in the second innings.
Their best batter Shubham Khajuria top-scored with 94 while wicketkeeper batter Kanhaiya Wadhawan scored 84 runs. For Baroda, the target set is of 365 runs and they finished day three at 58/2 losing both their openers to off-spinner Sahil Lotra.
As far as the qualification is concerned, J&K can make it to the knockouts even with a draw but cannot afford to lose. On the other hand, Baroda will have to chase down 307 runs on the final day to go through. They have eight wickets in hand and the game is set up for a mouthwatering finish on the last day.