J&K pull off historic 4-wicket win over Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy

J&K captain Parvez Rasool led his side to a historic win over Mumbai (File Photo)

Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) pulled off the biggest upset in the history of Indian domestic cricket, earlier today, by beating domestic giants Mumbai by 4 wickets in the opening round of the 2014-15 Ranji Trophy season.

Needing 237 for victory in the fourth innings, J&K resumed day three on 58/1, with Shubham Khajuria (34*) and Bandeep Singh (11*) being the overnight batsmen. Bandeep wasn’t able to add much to his overnight tally as he was dismissed for 12 off the bowling of Abhishek Nayar. But Khajuria’s composed knock of 78 on a difficult batting surface went a long way towards securing victory for J&K, with Hardeep Singh (41*) and Parvez Rasool (32) more than playing their part.

Going back to the start of the match, it was Mumbai who won the toss and chose to bat. They, however, were all out for a meagre 236, with captain Suryakumar Yadav (57) being the only one to cross 50. From J&K’s perspective, Waseem Raza was the star of the show with figures of 3/29 from 11 overs.

In reply, J&K racked up 254 on the board, thereby securing a lead of 18 runs over the 40-time Ranji Trophy champions. Khajuria scored 107 from 219 deliveries and much like the 2nd innings, spearheaded the minnows’ batting unit while Ian Dev Singh chipped in with a knock of 70.

Trailing by 18 runs, Mumbai needed someone to come up with a big effort with the bat in their 3rd innings, and Yadav sure led the way as he struck a majestic 115 off just 158 balls. However, Mumbai could manage to muster only 254, setting the visitors a target of 237 in the process. Medium-pacer Ram Dayal starred with the ball for J&K this time around, finishing up with figures of 23-6-76-5.

Khajuria, with 107 and 78 in the 1st and 2nd innings respectively, was deservedly adjudged the Man of the Match.

"To beat Mumbai in Mumbai is a great achievement. Our graph has been rising steadily over the last 2-3 years, but we were told playing in elite division is different. We have answered that question," said Rasool after the match.

Brief Scores

J&K beat Mumbai by 4 wickets

Mumbai 1st innings: 236 all out (Suryakumar Yadav 57, Waseem Raza 3/29)

J&K 1st innings: 254 all out (Shubham Khajuria 107, Vishal Dabholkar 3/30)

Mumbai 2nd innings: 254 all out (Suryakumar Yadav 115, Ram Dayal 5/76)

J&K 2nd innings: 237/6 (Shubham Khajuria 78, Vishal Dabholhar 2/66)

Well done to the J&K cricket team, beat Mumbai at the Wankhede stadium.

— Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) December 10, 2014