Srinagar: Staging a comeback after going down in their first match against Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir Cricket team on Tuesday registered its first win in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, beating Tripura by seven wickets.
Opting to bowl first after winning the toss at KSCA Cricket Ground Alur, Ram Dayal on behalf of J&K dealt two quick blows to Tripura by removing both the opening batsmen limiting them to 17 for 2.
Middle-order batsman Udiyan Bose, the highest scorer in first inning, made 28 runs enabling his team to reach 72. He was eventually out, stumped, on the bowling of Abid Mushtaq.
Sankar Paul, was quickly downed out by Parvez Rasool as the later batting order couldn’t show much resistance against a buoyant bowling attack by J&K.
Aquib Ali took three wickets while Ram Dayal and Abid Mushtaq took two wickets apiece. Mujtaba Yousaf, conceding just 8 runs in his four overs picked one wicket besides one by Parvez Rasool.
Off to a jittery start, Jammu and Kashmir lost its opener Ahmad Banday in third over for an individual score of 3 while as the aggregate scorecard read 17. Shubham Khajuria was next to fall for just 2 runs (30/2).
Sensing a slump, Wicket-keeper batsman Suryansh Raina steadied the innings with a fine batting display, scoring 33 runs of just 25 deliveries with five four and a six before falling leg-before wickets’ to Sankar Paul when the scorecard read 56/3.
Shubham Pundir in company of his Skipper Parvez Rasool then took on the job by scoring 21 and 19 runs respectively to see their team through with 31 balls to spare.
The thumping win is likely to up the Net Run Rate of an otherwise bottom of the table team and to help them to make it to play.
The tournament is named after Syed Mushtaq Ali, a right-handed opening batsman for (the then un-partitioned) India who holds the distinction of scoring the first overseas Test century by an Indian player, when he scored 112 against England at Old Trafford in the year 1936. (GNS)
