Ranji Trophy: Jammu and Kashmir reach semis for 1st time after Nabi's 12-wicket haul

Jammu and Kashmir scripted history on Sunday, reaching the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy for the first time with a hard-fought 56-run win over the Madhya Pradesh cricket team in Indore. Sixty-seven years after their debut in the competition, and six years after their last appearance in the knockouts, the side delivered a performance built on grit, resilience, and a fast bowler at the peak of his powers.

Auqib Nabi was the architect of the landmark victory. The seamer returned match figures of 12 for 110, dismantling Madhya Pradesh's batting lineup across both innings and ensuring that every time the game drifted, it was pulled back firmly in Jammu and Kashmir's favour. His seven-wicket haul in the first innings, 7 for 40, proved particularly decisive as it handed his side a slender but crucial 42-run lead after they had been bowled out for 194.

That advantage looked fragile when Madhya Pradesh struck back in the second innings. Jammu and Kashmir were reduced to 73 for 5, and the momentum had shifted once again. A lower-order fightback, however, altered the course of the match. Abid Mushtaq made 41, and Vanshraj Sharma struck a composed unbeaten 54 to push the total forward. More importantly, a 65-run last-wicket partnership between Sunil Kumar and Yudhvir Singh stretched the lead to a point where the target was no longer straightforward. What might have been a sub-250 chase grew into a far sterner test.

Madhya Pradesh resumed the fourth day at 87 for 5, needing 204 more runs. The early dismissal of vice-captain Venkatesh Iyer dealt them a blow, but Saransh Jain kept hopes alive with a counterattacking 64. He found support from Shubham Sharma and Ramveer Gurjar, and for a period, the contest hung finely balanced.

It was Nabi who broke the resistance. Bowling from around the stumps, he produced one that bent back sharply to beat Saransh's defense, a breakthrough that effectively ended the chase. At 211 for 9, the result felt inevitable, though Aryan Pandey and Kuldeep Sen delayed the celebrations with a stubborn 23-run stand for the last wicket. Yudhvir eventually bowled Pandey to seal the victory and spark jubilant scenes among the visiting players.

Nabi's season continues to gather momentum. He is the only seamer among the top five wicket-takers in this edition and has taken 46 wickets so far, second only to Uttarakhand's Mayank Mishra with 52. Since the start of the 2024-25 season, he has claimed 97 first-class wickets, underlining his emergence as one of the most consistent quicks on the domestic circuit.