February 28, 2026 will be etched forever in the annals of Jammu & Kashmir’s cricket history. The state from the tip of North India became the latest champions in the history of Ranji Trophy. A couple of years back, no one ever thought that the Jammu & Kashmir team will even reach the final let alone win the championship.
https://x.com/BCCIdomestic/status/2027690290145071164?s=20
But this week, the Jammu & Kashmir boys showed that they were able to not only match wits but also outwit a team like the eight-time champions Karnataka on their own backyard. It has been a story of relentless pursuit, of overcoming odds, of not baulking at what was kept in front of them. It now has a tangible, finite and fairy tale finish! And this team, playing their first-ever final, now have their first-ever title too!
https://x.com/BCCIdomestic/status/2027680334926803355?s=20
The conquest was more or less done when Jammu & Kashmir had taken the massive first innings lead on the fourth day. It was only going through the formalities that was needed. On the fifth and final day of play at the KSCA Stadium in Hubli on Saturday, Jammu & Kashmir completed the formalities to become worthy winners of the Ranji Trophy.
Resuming at their overnight score of 186 for four, Jammu & Kashmir were in no mood to declare. They turned it into a batting exercise as the overnight pair of Qamran Iqbal and Sahul Lotra extended their partnership till fatigue set in for everyone.
https://x.com/BCCIdomestic/status/2027717007349846525?s=20
When the declaration finally came, Qamran was batting on 160 and Sahil was on 101 with Jammu & Kashmir reaching 342 for four declared. In all, the visitors batted for 56 overs on the final day, and the duo added 197 for the unbroken fifth wicket.
No words to describe the feelings: Dogra
Jammu & Kashmir skipper Paras Dogra collected the Ranji Trophy from BCCI president Mithun Manhas and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia to set off the celebrations.
“I have no words, cannot describe it right now. Will take some time to describe what I am feeling right now. I feel I am very lucky I got a group and association like this, who supported us. To rub shoulders with these guys, it has been amazing. No words to explain how good our team is. We learned from that one-run defeat. We talked about each and every run being crucial and to just give 100 percent. We just did not want to repeat it. Always been on the mark and God has been helping us,” said an emotionally moved Dogra.
On the toss decision, he said: “It was looking a little dry, so thought it could maybe turn. When we had a talk, we decided to bat first.”
“To be honest, I do not know. Never thought to be here. Will enjoy with the boys and let’s see where I will go,” he said on where he seems himself in a few months.
Plan has been simple, says Nabi
Auqib Nabi, who finished with 60 wickets – the highest – in the season, was named the Player of the Series. “It was unbelievable, we have won for the first time. When I started, I just wanted to win a trophy and especially the Ranji Trophy. We put in a lot of hard work, went through struggle and finally, we have been able to win it,” he said.
“My plan is simple. I want to give my best in every match. Try to put everything into it. In knockouts, every match is a must-win. I do not think much about results and focus on the process. Don’t look at the batters and bowl, just think about hitting the right areas. Everyone (in my family) has supported me and had their support not been there, I would not be here. I got so many messages and prayers from people back home, I just want to say thank you to everyone. My message will be that if you do not have facilities or have limited facilities, just work hard and put in every effort,” the lion-hearted pacer added.
Jammu & Kashmir poised to create history, on verge of winning their maiden Ranji title
“It is a surreal feeling. Feels like it is a fairy tale. For our region, for our players, our management, it is a huge thing and a great achievement. Aim was to bat as long as possible. We wanted to give a target of 500-600. Runs did not matter much, but we needed to bat long. My plan was to see through the new ball and play forward and attack the spinners – that was the demand of the pitch. I enjoy batting with both (Yawer and Samad). He (Samad) takes the pressure off you completely,” said Shubham Pundir, who was named Player of the Match for his first innings century.
Really proud of the boys, says Padikkal
“Really proud of the boys. To get to a final is not easy. All credit goes to J&K and they thoroughly deserved it. We always understood toss will play a big role. But the pressure of the final will always be there. Was up to us to stand up and we could not do it unfortunately. They (J&K) played much better cricket than us. Nabi has bowled exceptionally well throughout the season. Our batters have scored a lot of runs, and we backed ourselves. But he got the better of us. It is not easy to negate that sort of performance. Really happy for him. To get those many wickets…he has put his heart and soul into this season, and really happy for him. This is the first loss I have felt as a captain, so have to adjust to that as well,” said Karnataka skipper Devdutt Padikkal.
It has been an amazing journey, says Manhas
“It has been an amazing journey, started in June 2021. I want to specially thank the BCCI back then and especially Jay (Shah) bhai. He was the first secretary (In decades) who came to Jammu, saw our condition and there was no looking back. I am a person of process, and believed you need to have seniors around. With Paras coming, we got this stability, the calmness and with Ajay (Sharma) bhai, he has the experience of playing five finals. The kind of batting he used to do, that has helped the boys grow. The best part that has happened is they have started believing in themselves. This win is dedicated to all of the people back home and all ex-cricketers back home. All the other teams, like Uttarakhand, they played exceedingly well, and they have also started believing. It is only a matter of time (before the results will follow),” said BCCI president Mithun Manhas, who was also former J&K director of cricket.
SCOREBOARD
Jammu & Kashmir (1st Innings): 584.
Karnataka (1st Innings): 293.
Jammu & Kashmir (2nd Innings): Qamran Iqbal (not out) 160, Yawer Hassan b Prasidh 1, Shubham Pundir c sub (Shrijith) b Vyshak 4, Paras Dogra b Prasidh 16, Abdul Samad c Vyshak b Gopal 32, Sahil Lotra (not out) 101; Extras: (B17, LB9, W2) 28. Total: (For four wickets declared in 113 overs) 342.
Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-11, 3-72, 4-145.
Bowling: Vijaykumar Vyshak 10-1-30-1, Prasidh Krishna 12-0-42-2, Vidyadhar Patil 13-0-51-0, Shikhar Shetty 31-10-50-0, Shreyas Gopal 36-13-84-1, Karun Nair 7-2-21-0, KL Rahul 2-0-15-0, Mayank Agarwal 2-0-23-0.
