All posts tagged: jammu kashmir ranji

‘As World Cup moves to business end, most heart-warming story came from elsewhere’: Ravi Shastri hails J&K’s Ranji Trophy win | Cricket News

‘As World Cup moves to business end, most heart-warming story came from elsewhere’: Ravi Shastri hails J&K’s Ranji Trophy win | Cricket News

Published by Webster

3 min readMar 3, 2026 03:29 PM IST Jammu and Kashmir made history last week by winning their first Ranji Trophy title. The final of the premier domestic first class tournament in India was drawn between J&K and the star-studded Karnataka, with the former winning on the basis of their first innings lead. Former India head coach Ravi Shastri said that this was the most heartwarming story to come out last week, putting it above the 2026 T20 World Cup moving into its final stages. “As the World Cup moves into the business end, with all eyes on the big stage… the most heart-warming story of last week came from elsewhere,” said Shastri in a lengthy post on his X account. “Jammu & Kashmir lifting the Ranji Trophy for the very first time. Let that sink in. What a journey. What a story. Paras Dogra, Ajay Sharma and this fearless bunch have taken the long road, knocking over heavyweights, game after game, with grit and self-belief. No shortcuts. Just hard cricket and big hearts. ALSO …

How Jammu & Kashmir went from punching bag to Ranji Trophy title contenders | Cricket News

How Jammu & Kashmir went from punching bag to Ranji Trophy title contenders | Cricket News

Published by Webster

Jammu & Kashmir had waited 66 long years to be in the Ranji Trophy final. Last year, they seemed on course but fell short by one run against Kerala in the quarter-final. In the semi-final this time, at 71 for four needing 55 to win at the Kalyani ground against hosts Bengal, out walked J&K’s buccaneer batsman Abdul Samad, who unleashed 27-ball 30 that had three sixes. That proved to be a game-changing knock. J&K, for long considered punching bags of the North Zone, were through to the final, a step away from the summit they had never dared to set their eyes on. Bengal were the fourth team that J&K defeated, travelling to their backyard, after Delhi and MP. In their last near-miss of a season, they had humbled Mumbai in Mumbai. Samad, known as the ‘Hot Spring of Kalakote’ (Rajouri, Pir Panjal), but having grown up in Jammu city, was the batting star with his fearless batting. “One of the cleanest strikers of the ball,” said bowling coach P Krishna Kumar. 𝙎𝘾𝙀𝙉𝙀𝙎 𝙊𝙁 …

What makes J&K pacer Auqib Nabi special: Can swing the ball both ways, commendable accuracy | Cricket News

What makes J&K pacer Auqib Nabi special: Can swing the ball both ways, commendable accuracy | Cricket News

Published by Webster

If there was a collection of two deliveries that explained the hype that has built around Auqib Nabi, Jammu and Kashmir’s 27-year-old right-arm quick, on the domestic circuit, it came in the 63rd over of Delhi’s innings during their Ranji Trophy fixture at the Feroz Shah Kotla grounds on Saturday. After a wicket with the new ball, Nabi returned for a spell and nabbed Anuj Rawat by moving the ball out to catch the edge of the left-hander. In his next over, he shaped one at the perfect Test length, getting the ball to move away from the right-handed Hrithik Shokeen late and catching his glove. On the next one, he bowled a vicious in-swinger – getting the ball to reverse swing when it was older and softer – that crushed the front toe of debutant Manan Bhardwaj. To get the ball to move both ways so seamlessly, with commendable accuracy in length, has been his hallmark. It allowed him to take 44 wickets last season as J&K reached the quarterfinals. On the back of …