By Admin 
There is no better sight for bowlers than watching batters struggle — beaten by pace, edges flying straight to fielders, and stumps rattling. That was exactly the script on Sunday, as 16 wickets tumbled on a dramatic opening day of the fifth-round clash between Jammu & Kashmir and Hyderabad at the JKCA Sports Hostel & Science Ground here.
Bowled out for 170, J&K roared back through its wrecker-in-chief Aquib Nabi, whose fiery spell (11-0-30-3) ripped through Hyderabad’s batting line up, leaving the visitors reeling at 88 for six at stumps — mirroring its own morning collapse.
Nabi removed openers Tanmay Agarwal and Abhirath Reddy in quick succession, while Himateja was run out following a mix-up and a sharp direct hit from covers, leaving Hyderabad struggling at 16 for three.
Skipper Rahul Singh and Nitish Reddy attempted to rebuild the innings, but Aquib struck again in the 12th over, dismissing Nitish. Left-arm seamer Sunil Kumar then knocked over Rahul Radesh, and just before stumps, he induced an outside edge from Rahul Singh (48, 84b, 6×4), leaving Hyderabad still 82 runs behind.
Earlier, Rahul’s decision to bowl first on a green-tinged surface paid immediate dividends. Pacer Kartikeya Kak struck thrice, sending back opener Qamran Iqbal on the eighth ball of the innings and Vivrant Sharma on the 19th.
B. Punnaiah then castled the other opener, Shubham Khajuria, leaving J&K precariously placed at 17 for three. Abdul Samad partnered with skipper Paras Dogra to steady the innings briefly, but Rakshann Readdi dismissed Dogra and Kanhaiya Wadhwan, reducing J&K to 32 for five.
A 60-run sixth-wicket stand between Abid Mushtaq and Samad briefly revived J&K’s innings, but the resistance ended when left-arm spinner Tanay Thyagarajann trapped Samad right in front.
Mushtaq fought on with determination, racing to a counter-attacking half-century and adding 47 valuable runs with Sahil Lotra, before Tanay struck again to dismiss Mushtaq, breaking the seventh-wicket partnership. From there, J&K’s tail folded quickly.
The scores: Jammu & Kashmir — 1st innings: Qamran Iqbal b Kartikeya Kak 5, Shubham Khajuria b Punnaiah 4, Vivrant Sharma b Kartikeya Kak 0, Paras Dogra c Radesh b Rakshann 5, Abdul Samad lbw b Tanay 34, Kanhaiya Wadhwan c Radhesh b Rakshann 0, Abid Mushtaq c & b Tanay 57, Sahil Lotra c Rakshann b Tanay 36, Auqib Nabi c Tanay b Kartikeya Kak 0, Umar Nazir c Himateja b Aniketh 9, Sunil Kumar (not out) 4; Extras (b-12, lb-4): 16; Total (in 47.1 overs): 170.
Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-13, 3-17, 4-32, 5-32, 6-92, 7-139, 8-144, 9-166.
Hyderabad bowling: Punnaiah 10-3-29-1, Kartikeya 14-5-48-3, Rakshann 12-3-54-2, Tanay 9.1-1-19-3, Aniketh 2-1-4-1.
Hyderabad — 1st innings: Tanmay Agarwal c Nazir b 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 (batting) 13, Aniketh Reddy (batting) 2; Extras (nb-3, b-3, lb-4): 10; Total (for six wkts. in 28 overs): 88.
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-15, 3-16, 4-42, 5-51, 6-81.
Jammu & Kashmir bowling: Nabi 11-0-30-3, Nazir 8-1-28-0, Sunil 8-2-15-2, Lotra 1-0-8-0.