Ranji Trophy final: J&K inching toward historic triumph against Karnataka
What's the story
Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) are on the brink of making history in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy Final. The first-time finalists have put themselves in a commanding position against eight-time champions Karnataka at the KSCA Cricket Ground in Hubli. After Day 4, J&K lead by an imposing 477 runs, with Auqib Nabi and Qamran Iqbal's stellar performance being instrumental to their dominance. J&K, in their second innings, finished the day at 186/4.
Bowling brilliance
Nabi's stellar performance against Karnataka
Nabi, who is now the highest wicket-taker of the season, wreaked havoc on Karnataka's batting order. He dismissed KL Rahul, Karun Nair, and Smaran Ravichandran to put J&K in a strong position. After taking the second new ball, Nabi sent Agarwal packing for 160 runs and completed his five-wicket haul by trapping Shikhar Shetty in front of the wicket. His efforts meant Karnataka, who started Day 3 at 220/5, were folded for 293. Notably, J&K posted 584/10 while batting first.
Feat
Nabi goes past Mayank Mishra
Nabi finished his spell with 5/54 in 23 overs (7 maidens). He has raced to 60 wickets across 10 games (17 innings) this season. The pacer went past Uttarakhand's Mayank Mishra's tally of 59 scalps to become the leading wicket-taker of the season. Nabi's average of 12.56 is the best among bowlers with at least 22 scalps. The pacer's tally of seven five-wicket hauls is also the most for any bowler in the season (4W: 2).
Agarwal
Agarwal goes past 8,900 FC runs
Agarwal, who resumed the day at 130*, departed for 160 off 26 balls, a knock laced with 21 fours. This was his 21st hundred in First-Class cricket, as he also boasts 48 fifties. The out-of-favor Indian Test opener has now raced to 8,929 FC runs at an average of around 44. In the ongoing Ranji season, Agarwal has scored six 50-plus scores in 10 matches (100s: 2). The tally includes 678 runs at an average of 42.37.
Batting display
Qamran unbeaten on Day 4
On Day 4, J&K's opener Qamran Iqbal led the charge with an unbeaten 94 runs. Notably, the team lost their first two wickets for just 11 runs. Iqbal's efforts, however, they finished at 186/4 in 57 overs. While Prasidh Krishna dismissed two batters, Shreyas Gopal and Vijaykumar Vyshak took one wicket each. With three sessions left to play, Karnataka now have to take six remaining wickets and chase down a target of around 500 runs to avoid defeat.
Iqbal
Iqbal heading toward his hundred
Iqbal scored 94 off 160 balls during his stay with the help of 11 fours and a six. The opener is heading toward his second hundred of the season. This was his fourth 50-plus score in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy, which took him past 400 runs at an average of 50-plus (10 innings). Overall, he has gone past 840 runs across 15 First-Class matches at 31-plus (50s: 7, 100: 1).