Nabi rocks Karnataka’s batting unit, puts J & K in the driver’s seat

Give someone an inch and they will take a mile. No player has internalised this age-old saying quite like Auqib Nabi.

On day three of the Ranji Trophy final at the KSCA Rajnagar Stadium here on Thursday, the Jammu & Kashmir pacer sliced through the Karnataka top-order to show why he is the hottest property in Indian domestic cricket.

On a predominantly batting-friendly surface, but one that was slightly hospitable to off-the-seam movement, Nabi bowled five devastating overs — one before lunch and four after — and excised K.L. Rahul, Karun Nair and R. Smaran to leave the home side tottering at 57 for four.

Karun and Smaran, in fact, fell for zeroes off back-to-back deliveries as Karnataka’s reply to J & K’s giant 584-run first-innings total crumbled like the defence of a shoddily prepared lawyer faced with a shrewd prosecutor.

Opener Mayank Agarwal did emerge with credit, remaining unbeaten on 130 (207b, 17×4), his 21st First Class century and 14th for his State. If a 105-run partnership with Shreyas Gopal (27, 83b, 1×4) for the fifth wicket arrested the bleeding, an unbroken 58-run association with Kruthik Krishna (27 batting, 75b, 2×4) has kept the hope flickering at 220 for five. To what end, Friday will tell.

In the first session, J & K, from an overnight 527 for six, was bowled out for the addition of 57 runs as pacer Prasidh Krishna took five for 98, his fourth five-wicket haul in First Class matches and second against J & K.

That brought into play the battle everyone was waiting for — the famed Karnataka batting order, comprising four Test batters and this campaign’s leading run-scorer, against Nabi. There was only one winner.

The 29-year-old scalped all three of his wickets in similar fashion — with good-length deliveries aimed at the stumps foxing the batters by moving away a tad. Rahul was squared up and forced to edge behind; Karun was royally cleaned up; and southpaw Smaran was caught by wicketkeeper Kanhaiya Wadhawan for a golden duck.

Left-armer Sunil Kumar offered variety and proved the catalyst behind Karnataka’s implosion from 56 for one when he had captain Devdutt Padikkal caught by Abdul Samad at first slip in the 17th over.

By the end of the subsequent over, Nabi had nearly flattened his opponent by taking his season’s tally to 58 wickets. If he can finish the job on the penultimate morning, J & K could well be floating in the air and within touching distance of its maiden Ranji Trophy title.

The scores: Jammu & Kashmir — 1st innings: Qamran Iqbal c Rahul b Prasidh 6, Yawer Hassan c Rahul b Prasidh 88, Shubham Pundir c sub b Vidyadhar 121, Paras Dogra b Shreyas 70, Abdul Samad c Kruthik b Prasidh 61, Kanhaiya Wadhawan c Rahul b Shikhar 70, Sahil Lotra c Vidyadhar b Vyshak 72, Abid Mushtaq c Padikkal b Prasidh 28, Auqib Nabi c Kruthik b Prasidh 2, Yudhvir Singh (run out) 30, Sunil Kumar (not out) 1; Extras (b-14, lb-16, w-5): 35; Total (in 173.1 overs): 584.

Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-157, 3-303, 4-307, 5-417, 6-471, 7-539, 8-543, 9-543.

Karnataka bowling: Vidyadhar 32-2-116-1, Vyshak 34-10-75-1, Prasidh 34.1-7-98-5, Shreyas 34-2-139-1, Shikhar 37-3-125-1, Karun 2-1-1-0.

Karnataka — 1st innings: K.L. Rahul c Wadhawan b Nabi 13, Mayank Agarwal (batting) 130, Devdutt Padikkal c Samad b Sunil 11, Karun Nair b Nabi 0, R. Smaran c Wadhawan b Nabi 0; Shreyas Gopal lbw b Yudhvir 27, Kruthik Krishna (batting) 27; Extras (lb-2, nb-10): 12; Total (for five wkts. in 69 overs): 220.

Fall of wickets: 1-27, 2-56, 3-57, 4-57, 5-162.

Jammu & Kashmir bowling: Nabi 14-3-32-3, Sunil 14-3-45-1, Yudhvir 10-3-32-1, Abid 20-2-62-0, Lotra 9-0-42-0, Samad 2-0-5-0.

Published – February 26, 2026 09:01 pm IST