By Admin 
When a team reaches the point of complete dominance, they don’t wait — they go for the kill — and that’s exactly what Jammu & Kashmir did on the penultimate day of its Ranji Trophy Elite Group-D match against Hyderabad.
Abdul Samad ignited a cold but bright Jammu morning with a composed and responsible 125 (200b, 10×4, 6×6), helping his side set a mammoth 472-run target, while left-arm spinner Abid Mushtaq’s guile pushed the visitors to the brink at the J&K Sports Hostel and Science College ground on Tuesday.
Abid Mushtaq.
| Photo Credit:
SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
Hyderabad collapsed like a house of cards in pursuit. The slide began when Mushtaq had opener Abhirath Reddy caught behind. Off-spinner Sahil Lotra then breached the defence of the other opener, Tanmay Agarwal, before Mushtaq dismissed K. Himateja and Nitish Reddy off consecutive deliveries in the 31st over.
Skipper Rahul Singh then fell to Lotra, and Mushtaq soon trapped Tanay Thyagarajan, leaving Hyderabad reeling at 119 for six.
A 42-run seventh-wicket resistance between Aniketh Reddy and Rahul Radesh pushed the total past 150. But just before stumps, pacer Aquib Nabi found Radesh’s outside edge, as Hyderabad ended the day at 169 for seven, needing a miracle to survive.
Earlier, Kanhaiya Wadhwan and Samad batted with trademark swagger. There were deft cuts, wristy flicks, and a stunning inside-out shot over extra-cover that landed near the handful of fans, bringing up his century in style.
Wadhwan, who played the perfect foil, missed out on a well-deserved century (95, 110b, 11×4, 1×6), undone by a peach from pacer B. Punnaiah. Lotra didn’t last long, falling to Rakshann Readdi, while Samad — looking to accelerate — offered a simple return catch to Tanay.
Mushtaq found the boundary thrice before being removed by Kartikeya Kak. Aquib launched a couple of lusty blows over deep mid-wicket before falling to Tanay, who also trapped Umar Nazir soon after, as J&K eventually set an imposing target.
The scores: Jammu & Kashmir — 1st innings: 170.
Hyderabad — 1st innings: 121.
Jammu & 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 c & b Tanay 125, Kanhaiya Wadhwan b Punnaiah 95, Sahil Lotra b Rakshann 7, Abid Mushtaq lbw b Kartikeya 22, Auqib Nabi lbw b Tanay 27, Umar Nazir lbw b Tanay 9, Sunil Kumar (not out) 9; Extras (w-1, b-20, lb-2) 23; Total (in 100.5 overs): 422.
Fall of wickets: 1-36, 2-81, 3-95, 4-127, 5-318, 6-336, 7-356, 8-387, 9-409.
Hyderabad bowling: Punnaiah 12-2-61-1, Kartikeya 21-2-98-2, Tanay 24.5-4-87-4, Rakshann 23-2-86-3, Aniketh 19-0-66-0, Himateja 1-0-2-0.
Hyderabad — 2nd innings: Tanmay Agarwal b Lotra 47, Abhirath Reddy c Wadhwan b Mushtaq 18, Rahul Singh c Mushtaq b Lotra 30, K. Himateja lbw b Mushtaq 12, Nitish Reddy lbw b Mushtaq 0, Rahul Radesh c Wadhwan b Auqib 20, Tanay Thyagarajan lbw b Mushtaq 0, Aniketh Reddy (batting) 35, Rakshann Readdi (batting) 0; Extras (nb-3, b-4): 7; Total (for seven wkts. In 52.3 overs): 169.
Fall of wickets: 1-58, 2-84, 3-112, 4-112, 5-114, 6-119, 7-161.
Jammu & Kashmir bowling: Auqib 7.3-4-15-1, Nazir 9-3-31-0, Sunil 9-1-31-0, Mushtaq 16-2-56-4, Lotra 10-2-28-2, Samad 1-0-4-0.