Jammu Kashmir reach maiden Ranji Trophy final in 67-years:Defeat Bengal by 6 wickets; Shami-Gharami’s magic go in vain

The Jammu and Kashmir cricket team created history by defeating Bengal by six wickets in the Ranji Trophy semifinal. This was their first-ever semifinal appearance, and they made it truly special by securing a memorable win. With this victory, JK have reached the Ranji Trophy final for the first time in 67 years. They are likely to face Karnataka in the title clash. The win marks a major moment in the domestic cricket journey of the team. Over the past few years, Jammu and Kashmir have shown steady improvement, but this performance has taken them to a new level. Led by Paras Dogra, the young side delivered an outstanding performance in batting, bowling, and fielding to overcome a strong Bengal team. Auqib Nabi’s 9-wicket haul powers JK to historic victory The star of the match was pace bowler Auqib Nabi from Kashmir. He took nine wickets in the match and played a key role in Bengal’s collapse. Left-arm pacer Sunil Kumar also impressed with seven wickets. For his brilliant effort, Auqib was named Player of the Match. The semifinal began with Bengal scoring 328 runs in the first innings, thanks to a century by Sudip Gharami. For JK, Auqib took five wickets, while Sunil Sharma claimed three and Yudhvir Charak picked up two. In reply, Jammu and Kashmir scored 302 runs. Abdul Samad led the batting with 82 runs. Auqib (42) and Yudhvir Charak (33) added important runs for the ninth wicket, helping the team stay close to Bengal’s total. When Bengal came out to bat in the second innings, JK bowlers dominated completely. They bowled Bengal out for just 99 runs. Auqib Nabi and Sunil Kumar took four wickets each, while Yudhvir claimed two. JK’s calm chase on day 4 against Bengal Chasing a target of 126 runs on the fourth day, JK resumed at 43 for 2. They lost Shubham Pundir early, but night watchman Vanshaj Sharma played a steady knock of 43 runs. Captain Paras Dogra tried to support him but was dismissed for nine. After that, IPL star Abdul Samad joined Sharma and played attacking cricket, hitting boundaries and sixes. Samad scored 29 runs and helped the team complete the chase in the first session itself, sealing a historic win. Auqib Nabi’s dream Ranji season Auqib Nabi has been the most successful bowler of the Ranji Trophy season so far. He has taken 55 wickets in 16 innings at an excellent average of 12.72 and an economy rate of 2.67. His season includes six five-wicket hauls. His best performance was 12 wickets for 110 runs against Madhya Pradesh. Shami-Gharami’s magic go in vain for Bengal In the first innings of the semi-final, Bengal’s premium batter Sudip Gharami played a brilliant knock of 146 runs. His century powered Team Bengal to score 328 runs in 97.1 overs. Meanwhile, in the second innings, Mohammed Shami created a history with an 8-wicket haul. But, Jammu Kashmir’s Auqib Nabi and his brilliant spell dominated over the hosts and powered Jammu Kashmir to enter in their maiden Ranji Trophy final. Dramatic surge in search trends mid-day during JK vs Bengal semi-final day 4 Source: Google Trends As Jammu Kashmir enters the Ranjiu Trophy final for the first time in 67 years, defeating Bengal by 6 wickets, over the past 24 hours, search interest for ‘Bengal vs Jammu and Kashmir’ remained mostly low, staying in single digits and teens. A sharp rise occurred late evening, touching around 70 before falling again. Interest stayed quiet overnight, then surged dramatically around midday, hitting the peak of 100, likely due to a key match update or result.