HUBBALLI: For the first hour of the Ranji Trophy title contest here on Tuesday, the Karnataka pace trio of Prasidh Krishna, Vidhyadhar Patil and Vyshak Vijaykumar, tested the Jammu and Kashmir batters. They got movement off the seam and probed the openers who were beaten on several occasions.Qamran Iqbal (6) and Yawer Hassan (88) lived dangerously and the former— having come in as a replacement for Shubham Khajuria, who was ruled out after suffering a lower-back spasm — perished during that passage of play, when he edged a good length delivery which moved away to KL Rahul at second slip.Thereafter, J&K seized control. Riding on an unbeaten century from Shubham Pundir (117; 221b; 12×4; 2×6) and contributions from Hassan and the in-form Abdul Samad (52 batting), the visitors closed the opening day at the KSCA Rajnagar Stadium on a commanding 284/2 in 87 overs.
Pundir joined Hassan in the 11th over and the pair stitched together a crucial 139-run partnership that shifted the momentum decisively.Hassan began cautiously before capitalising on loose deliveries. A couple of half volleys from Vyshak allowed him to break free with successive cover drives to the boundary. Pundir too counterattacked effectively, taking on Prasidh during his otherwise disciplined spells. Their strokeplay signalled a clear shift in approach as they moved from survival to dominance.Karnataka’s cause was further hurt by lapses in the field. The hosts burned a couple of unsuccessful reviews and spilled more than one chance at crucial moments. The introduction of spin brought little respite as Pundir swept leggie Shreyas Gopal off his first delivery.As the partnership flourished, Karnataka were pushed on to the defensive. Field placements spread out and the bowlers struggled to maintain consistent lengths, often offering the batters scoring opportunities. Hassan brought up his maiden first-class fifty in style, reaching the milestone off 77 balls with a late cut to the backward-point boundary. His innings included ten boundaries, many of them classical strokes.The post-lunch session underlined Karnataka’s inconsistency, especially with their lengths, while wicketkeeper Kruthik Krishna missed a stumping chance off Pundir, adding to the mounting frustration in the home camp.Prasidh, the most effective among the bowlers, eventually broke the stand with a back of a length delivery that Hassan edged to Rahul in the slips.J&K skipper Paras Dogra endured a painful outing. He was struck on the neck by a Prasidh bouncer and continued after treatment but looked uncomfortable. Substitute fielder KV Aneesh later dropped him off Vyshak before Dogra was hit again, this time on the hand forcing him to retire hurt.From there on, Abdul Samad and Pundir accelerated. The pair punished the spinners in the final session, with Pundir bringing up his fourth first-class century in style by stepping out to loft Shikhar Shetty over deep midwicket for six.By stumps, J&K had seized the initiative, with Pundir and Samad promising more runs on a day that belonged to the visitors.While Karnataka went with an unchanged squad, J&K were forced to make two changes with Vanshaj Sharma joining Khajuria on the sidelines.SCOREBOARDJammu and Kashmir (I Innings): Qamran Iqbal c Rahul b Prasidh 6, Yawer Hassan c Rahul b Prasidh 88, Shubham Pundir (batting) 117, Paras Dogra (retd hurt) 9, Abdul Samad (batting) 52. Extras (W-2, B-2, LB-8) 12. Total: (2 wkts, 87 overs) 284. Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-157Bowling: Vidyadhar Patil 16-0-66-0, Vyshak Vijaykumar 18-6-25-0, Prasidh Krishna 16-5-36-2, Shreyas Gopal 17-1-79-0, Shikhar Shetty 20-0-68-0.
