Ranji trophy: J&K drubs mighty Mumbai by 5 wickets; qualifies for knockouts

MUMBAI, Jan 25: The members of 42-time Ranji Trophy champions and defending champion Mumbai had no answer to the ploy and skill of the members of well-knit young team of Jammu and Kashmir as the latter thrashed former by 5 wickets, thus qualifying for the prestigious knockout stage of the ongoing Ranji Trophy from Elite Group-A at Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy Ground BKC, Mumbai, today.
It may be recalled that J&K had beaten Mumbai at home in the Ranji Trophy, way back in 2014 and repeated the same after more than a decade  today.
Chasing a total of 205 runs, J&K began the innings in style as the make-shift opener Yawer Hassan (24) hit some delectable boundaries and gave a solid foundation to the team along with batting mainstay Shubham Khajuria by making an opening partnership of 37 runs before Vivrant Sharma and Shubham made a solid partnership of 75 runs and Abdul Samad (24) to power Jammu and Kashmir to a big victory by 5 wickets.
Shubham, who was brilliant with the willow in the first innings, showed extraordinary skill and serenity, scoring well made 45 runs in the second essay, while Vivrant contributed valuable 38 runs and Samad scored brisk 24 runs off 20 balls. Abid Mushtaq (30), skipper Paras Dogra (15) and Kanhaiya Wadhawan (19) also contributed to the winning cause
For Mumbai, left-arm spinner Shams Mulani was the pick of the bowlers who took 4 wickets, while Mohit Avasthi claimed one wicket.
Earlier, resuming from an overnight score of 274/7, Mumbai scored a total of 290 runs in their second essay, thus setting a target of 205 runs for the visitors.
Shardul Thakur, who was unbeaten on 113 runs overnight added 6 more runs and was dismissed on magnificent 119 runs off 135 balls studded with 18 boundaries, while Tanush Kotian contributed 62 runs to the total. Openers Rohit Sharma (28) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (26) were the other major contributors.
For J&K, Auqib Nabi was the pick of the bowlers, who took 4 wickets by conceding 80 runs in his 24 overs, while Yudhvir Singh bagged 3 wickets by conceding 64 runs in his 15 overs and Umar Nazir claimed 2 wickets by giving away 79 runs in his 19 overs.
Earlier, on day-1, winning the toss and batting first, Mumbai batters had struggled to score runs against quality stuff produced by J&K’s fast bowlers and managed to score just 120 runs in 33.2 overs.
Shardul Thakur top scored with 51 runs off 57 balls studded with 5 fours and 2 sixes, while Tanush Kotian contributed 26 runs off 36 balls with 5 boundaries. Ajinkya Rahane (12), Shreyas Iyer (11), Yashasvi Jaiswal (4), Rohit Sharma (3) and Shivam Dube (0) fell cheaply.
For J&K, the fast bowling trio of Yudhvir Singh, Umar Nazir and Aaqib Nabi produced exceptional bowling stuff by hitting good areas and wobbling the ball both ways, besides purchasing bounce from the surface.
Yudhvir and Umar took 4 wickets each by conceding 31 and 41 runs in 8.2 and 11 overs respectively, while Auqib  Nabi bagged 2 wickets by giving away 36 runs in his 13 overs.
The Sub Committee Members of JKCA including Brig Anil Gupta, Member-Administration; Mithun Manhas, Member Cricket Operations and Development and Sunil Sethi, Member Legal Affairs congratulated the team for this splendid victory. They appreciated the efforts of the players and support staff, especially Head Coach, Ajay Sharma and Captain Paras Dogra for this remarkable achievement.