After 67 years of waiting, Jammu & Kashmir have made it to the history books of the Indian domestic cricket. They beat Karnataka to win their first-ever Ranji Trophy title at the KSCA stadium, Hubballi and become 10th team to win the same in maiden final appearance. Though the match ended in a draw, Jammu & Kashmir won it eventually following their massive 291-run lead in the first innings. They dismantled the eighth-time champions Karnataka and dominated the final from Day 1 to seal their maiden Ranji Trophy title.
The final day of the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy was more of a formality with Jammu & Kashmir piling up a massive lead. Resuming the lead of 477 runs, Jammu & Kashmir showed no interest in a declaration. They were clear in their intention, their idea was to bat through the day knowing the eventual outcome of the match. By the time the captains shook hands in the post-lunch session, J&K had reached 342/4, securing their first-ever title via the first-innings lead rule.
Karnataka needed a miracle on Day 5- a few quick wickets to spark a collapse in the Jammu & Kashmir batting order. However, Jammu & Kashmir were determined as Qamran Iqbal and Sahil Lotra kept grinding. Qamran Iqbal, resuming on 82, played like a perfect veteran, reaching his 150 with an elegant drive through cover. At the other end, Lotra played the role of an anchor role to add 156 runs with Qamran.
Qamran remained unbeaten with 160 whereas Lotra notched up 101*. The pair was immovable as They refused to offer even a sniff of a wicket to a tiring Karnataka attack/ Their partnership ended up offering a wicketless morning session, effectively ending any chance mathematical hope for the hosts.
With the lead crossing 600 runs and the pitch offering nothing to the spinners, Karnataka captain Mayank Agarwal decided to call off the chase. The match was drawn with Jammu & Kashmir having a staggering first-innings lead of 633 runs. J&K claimed their maiden Ranji Trophy title convincingly beating one of the best teams in the history of the tournament.
Player of the Match
Shubham Pundir was named the Player of the Match for his 121-run knock in the first innings. He said, “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.”
Player of the Tournament
Auqib Nabi (J&K): With 60 wickets this season, including the match-defining 5-wicket haul in the final against Karnataka, Nabi became the Player of the Tournament. Nabi said, “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.”
Paras Dogra, the winning captain said after the match, “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. 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.”
