Indore, Feb 9: Fueled by pacer Auqib Nabi’s heroics, Jammu & Kashmir stormed into the Ranji Trophy semifinals for the first time in 67 years with a thrilling 56-run win over former champions Madhya Pradesh on Monday.
The 29-year-old Nabi stole the spotlight with a career-best 12-wicket haul, strengthening his case for national team selection after a remarkable season marked by consistent match-winning performances.
Chasing 291 for victory, Madhya Pradesh were bowled out for 234, handing J&K a historic berth in the last four, where they will face the winner of the quarterfinal between Andhra and Bengal.
Jammu & Kashmir last reached the Ranji knockouts six years ago. The other semifinal features Uttarakhand against Karnataka.
Nabi once again emerged as the destroyer-in-chief, claiming 5/70 in the second innings after his first-innings figures of 7/40, finishing with 12 wickets for just 110 runs.
Madhya Pradesh, reeling at 84 for 5 at Saturday’s close with Nabi having taken 3/23, could not recover. He first dismissed Ramveer Gurjar (11) and then ended the resistance of Saransh Jain, who had stood firm with a 64-run innings off 81 balls. Tailender Aryan Pandey’s 22 was the last wicket to fall, but the collapse had already begun earlier in the day, with India player Venkatesh Iyer dismissed for 104 after adding just 20 runs to the overnight total.
Veteran MP all-rounder Jain tried to keep his team in the game, building partnerships with Shubham Sharma (32) and Ramveer Gurjar (11) before eventually falling to Nabi, having struck seven boundaries and a six.
Left-arm spinner Abid Mushtaq also played a key role, taking three wickets for 49 runs.
Brief scores:
Jammu & Kashmir: 194 & 248 all out in 70.3 overs
Madhya Pradesh: 152 & 234 all out in 68.3 overs
(Shubham Sharma 32, Saransh Jain 64; Auqib Nabi 5/70, Abid Mushtaq 3/49) (Agencies)
