Madhya Pradesh has a mountain to climb in its semifinal pursuit

A valiant last-wicket stand and late strikes with the ball put Jammu and Kashmir in prime position against Madhya Pradesh on the third day of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal at the Holkar Stadium here on Sunday.

In the morning session, J & K saluted Vanshaj Sharma (54 n.o.) and Sunil Kumar (26) for adding 65 crucial runs in a 10th-wicket alliance which set a target of 291. MP was jittery in the pursuit, slipping to 87 for five.

The home team will enter the penultimate day needing a further 204 runs for victory, a tough ask given MP’s batting woes in this clash.

Resuming on the second-innings score of 85 for five, J & K overnight batters Kanhaiya Wadhawan and Abid Mushtaq made a sedate start. Wadhawan (23), however, erred when he flung his bat at a delivery from pacer Ramveer Gurjar. Mushtaq (41) suffered a similar rush of blood, falling out of balance to awkwardly hook Kuldeep Sen to deep fine-leg. MP soon had J & K in trouble at 183 for nine, setting its sights on a manageable 230-odd target.

But in a rare twist, Vanshaj and Sunil showed mettle and temperament that were missing in more established batters.

The young players, both of whom have played less than 10 First Class fixtures each, kept MP on the field for 23 more overs. As time wore on, the home team grew frustrated.

MP captain Rajat Patidar was left bereft of ideas, as Vanshaj and Sunil tackled everything thrown at them with ease – a spread out field, bouncers from the speedsters, and extra flight from the spinners.

By the time Sunil’s upper cut landed in the hands of the third-man fielder, the J & K lead had ballooned close to 300. An energised J & K outfit ran riot with the ball in hand. MP opener Yash Dubey, normally a dependable presence, uncharacteristically attempted to hook Auqib Nabi, but sent the ball up and not far enough.

Left-arm spinner Abid Mushtaq lifted the J & K spirit when he dived full length to pull off a one-handed caught and bowled blinder to dismiss Harsh Gawali.

Patidar’s forgettable outing ended with a hard poke and edge. Nightwatcher Kumar Kartikeya’s stumps were flattened by a Nabi yorker the very first delivery he faced. It is now up to Shubham Sharma (11 batting) and Venkatesh Iyer (7 batting) to pull MP out of the woods.

The scores: J & K — 1st innings: 194.

Madhya Pradesh — 1st innings: 152.

J & K — 2nd innings: Shubham Khajuria c Dubey b Gurjar 13, Yawer Hassan c Mantri b Kuldeep 1, Shubham Pundir b Kuldeep 4, Paras Dogra c Mantri b Venkatesh 17, Abdul Samad c Mantri b Venkatesh 32, Kanhaiya Wadhawan c (sub) Akshat b Gurjar 23, Abid Mushtaq c Saransh b Kuldeep 41, Vanshaj Sharma (not out) 54, Auqib Nabi lbw b Kuldeep 0, Yudhvir Singh c Gurjar b Venkatesh 18, Sunil Kumar c Gawali b Gurjar 26; Extras (b-9, lb-1, nb-8, w-1): 19; Total (in 70.3 overs): 248.

Fall of wickets: 1-10, 2-19, 3-19, 4-68, 5-73, 6-124, 7-149, 8-149, 9-183.

Madhya Pradesh bowling: Aryan 1.1-0-4-0, Kuldeep 18-3-65-4, Venkatesh 10.5-1-23-3, Gurjar 19.3-1-66-3, Kartikeya 10-1-39-0, Saransh 11-2-41-0.

Madhya Pradesh — 2nd innings: Yash Dubey c Yudhvir b Nabi 20, Himanshu Mantri c Samad b Mushtaq 31, Harsh Gawali c & b Mushtaq 2, Shubham Sharma (batting) 11, Rajat Patidar c Yawer b Nabi 8, Kumar Kartikeya b Nabi 0, Venkatesh Iyer (batting) 7; Extras (b-5, lb-3): 8; Total (for five wkts. in 28 overs): 87.

Fall of wickets: 1-34, 2-56, 3-59, 4-76, 5-76.

J & K bowling: Nabi 10-3-23-3, Sunil 4-1-11-0, Yudhvir 8-0-26-0, Mushtaq 6-0-19-2.

Published – February 09, 2026 12:28 am IST