Srinagar, Oct 19: Vidarbha seized control of their Ranji Trophy Elite clash against Jammu and Kashmir after taking a 45-run first-innings lead before reducing the hosts to 7 for four at stumps on Day 2 at Sher-i-Kashmir Cricket Stadium in Srinagar on Monday.
After bowling out J&K for 260 on the opening day, Vidarbha responded with 305 in 73 overs, powered by opener Ravikumar Samarth’s 143 off 202 balls and a fighting 64 from Rajneesh Gurbani.
Samarth anchored the innings with 17 fours and a six, while Gurbani struck 10 boundaries and a six in his 104-ball knock to help Vidarbha establish a valuable lead. Their contributions proved decisive as J&K’s bowlers struggled to contain the visitors’ scoring.
Umar Nazir and Sunil Kumar led the J&K bowling attack, claiming four wickets each. Nazir finished with figures of 4 for 56, while Sunil returned 4 for 73. Umran Malik and Abid Mushtaq picked up a wicket apiece.
J&K’s second innings, however, began disastrously as Vidarbha’s pace attack ripped through the top order, leaving the hosts reeling at 7 for four after five overs.
Yawer Hassan was dismissed for a duck, followed by nightwatchman Umran Malik and Lone Nasir, who also failed to open their accounts. Kawalpreet Singh, who had starred with a 96 in the first innings, was the fourth batter to depart, bowled for four.
Vidarbha pacer Nachiket Bhute did the bulk of the damage, claiming three wickets for just six runs, while Yash Thakur picked up one wicket.
At Stumps, Qamran Iqbal was unbeaten on one, with captain Paras Dogra on other side, as J&K trailed Vidarbha by 38 runs with six wickets remaining.
The hosts face an uphill task on Day 3, with their middle and lower order needing to produce a substantial recovery to prevent Vidarbha from tightening their grip on the match.
