Ranji Trophy final: Pundir, Hassan power J&K against Karnataka
What's the story
The first day of the Ranji Trophy final between Karnataka and Jammu & Kashmir ended with the latter dominating the proceedings. At stumps, J&K were comfortably placed at 284/2 at the Hubli Cricket Ground. Shubham Pundir was the star for J&K, scoring an unbeaten 116. The likes of Yawer Hassan and Abdul Samad also breached the 50-run mark on the day. Here we look at the report.
Strong stand
A solid partnership between Pundir and Hassan
Pundir's innings came as a major boost for J&K, who had lost their opener Qamran Iqbal (6) cheaply. The left-hander joined forces with opener Hassan to put together a brilliant 139-run partnership for the second wicket. Hassan contributed with a crucial knock of 88 runs before being dismissed. Pundir further recorded 105* runs with Abdul Samad (52*) en route to his ton as both batters returned unbeaten. Notably, skipper Paras Dogra was retired hurt for 9.
Missed opportunities
Prasidh Krishna's efforts in an otherwise tough day for Karnataka
Karnataka's bowlers had a tough time dealing with J&K's batting on Day 1. They missed several chances to dismiss the opposition, including a dropped catch of Dogra at gully by Aneesh. Despite these setbacks, Prasidh Krishna managed to break through J&K's opening partnership by getting Iqbal out caught by KL Rahul in the first session itself. The second wicket of the day also belonged to Prasidh, who finished with 2/36 from 16 overs.
Pundir
Pundir's second hundred of the season
Pundir finished Day 1 unbeaten on 117 off 221 balls (12 fours, 1 six). This was his second hundred across four games in the ongoing season, taking his tally past 300 runs. Overall, Pundir's fourth FC hundred has taken his tally past 1,400 runs from 32 matches at an average of 27-plus. He also owns three fifties in red-ball cricket. Pundir's best score is a brilliant 172.
Stats
Key numbers for Hassan and Samad
Hassan's 88 off 130 balls was laced with 13 fours. This was his maiden 50-plus score across nine innings in the season, taking his tally to 149 runs at a paltry 16.55. This was also his maiden FC fifty as he now owns 295 runs from 10 matches at 14-plus. Samad's unbeaten 67-ball 52 had five fours and a six. He has taken his season's tally to 707 runs at 64.27 (50s: 5, 100: 1).