By Admin 
Hyderabad woke up to Monday morning blues — and it only got worse. Jammu & Kashmir wasted no time asserting dominance, taking a commanding 324-run lead, powered by Abdul Samad (76 batting, 134b, 6×4, 4×6) and Kanhaiya Wadhwan’s (82 batting, 98b, 10×4, 1×6) unbroken 148-run fifth-wicket stand on day two of the Ranji Trophy clash at the JKCA Sports Hostel & Science Ground.
Resuming the day, J&K needed just 11.2 overs to dismiss Hyderabad’s tail for a paltry 121, sealing a crucial 49-run first-innings lead.
Opener Qamran Iqbal made his intentions clear from the outset in the second essay, taking on the pacers with flair. He found the fence four times off pacer Kartikeya Kak and whipped Rakshann Readdi twice as J&K raced past 50.
Hyderabad struck back when Kartikeya castled the other opener, Shubham Khajuria, but Vivrant Sharma, taking a cue from Iqbal, played with confidence. The duo kept the scoreboard ticking, pushing their side’s lead past 100.
Just as Iqbal reached his half-century, Rakshann trapped him plumb, breaking the 45-run second-wicket stand. Skipper Paras Dogra fell shortly after, becoming Rakshann’s second victim.
Vivrant and Abdul Samad maintained the intensity, consistently finding the fence. Samad, in particular, targeted left-arm spinners, Aniketh Reddy and Tanay Thyagarajann, sending them over cow corner at will. Vivrant’s brisk innings ended in brilliance at slip as Tanmay Agarwal dived low to pluck a sharp catch, after which Samad and Wadhwan seamlessly took over.
Earlier, the eighth ball of the morning produced a wicket once again — this time for J&K. Sunil Kumar’s scorching delivery disturbed Aniketh’s furniture, and moments later, Tanay poked at one outside off for a simple caught-behind. The procession continued as Rakshann had no answer to a swinging delivery from Auqib Nabi, and Sunil returned to flatten Kartikeya’s stumps, completing his maiden five-wicket haul in First-Class cricket. Hyderabad now stares at a daunting challenge in the days ahead.
The scores: Jammu and Kashmir — 1st innings: 170.
Hyderabad — 1st innings: Tanmay Agarwal c Nazir c Nabi 0, Abhirath Reddy c Lotra b Nabi 5, Rahul Singh c Wadhwan b Sunil 48, K. Himateja run out 0, Nitish Reddy c Nazir b Nabi 3, Rahul Radesh b Sunil 7, Tanay Thyagarajann c Wadhwan b Sunil 16, Aniketh Reddy b Sunil 3, Rakshann Readdi c Wadhwan b Nabi 11, Kartikeya Kak b Sunil 10, B. Punnaiah (n.o.) 0; Extras (nb-3, b-7, lb-8): 18; Total (in 39.2 overs): 121.
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-15, 3-16, 4-42, 5-51, 6-81, 7-90, 8-107, 9-117.
Jammu and Kashmir bowling: Nabi 16-1-39-4, Nazir 8-1-28-0, Sunil 13.2-3-29-5, Lotra 2-0-10-0.
Jammu and Kashmir — 2nd innings: Qamran Iqbal lbw b Rakshann 50, Shubham Khajuria b Kartikeya 5, Vivrant Sharma c Tanmay b Tanay 45, Paras Dogra b Rakshann 5, Abdul Samad (batting) 77, Kanhaiya Wadhwan (batting) 82; Extras (b-9, lb-2) 11; Total (for four wkts. in 71 overs): 275.
Fall of wickets: 1-36, 2-81, 3-95, 4-127.
Hyderabad bowling: Punnaiah 8-2-33-0, Kartikeya 14-1-58-1, Tanay 19-3-70-1, Rakshann 14-1-56-2, Aniketh 15-0-45-0, Himateja 1-0-2-0.