Jammu & Kashmir 284 for 2 (Pundir 117*, Yawer 88, Samad 52*, Prasidh 2-36) vs Karnataka
The build-up to the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 final was about the battle between Jammu and Kashmir's on-song bowlers and Karnataka's in-form batters. But by stumps on day one in Hubballi, it had turned upside down. J&K's Shubham Pundir (117*), Yawer Hassan (88) and Abdul Samad (52*) had put the visitors in command against the highly rated Prasidh Krishna, Shreyas Gopal and Vijaykumar Vyshak, among others.
J&K won the toss and opted to bat on a dry pitch that was expected to crumble as the game progressed, and finished day one on a solid 284 for 2. Opening batter Pundir hit his second hundred of the season, Yawer got his maiden first-class half-century, and Samad batted at a brisk pace.
But it wasn't all that easy for J&K. Vidyadhar Patil, Vyshak and Prasidh tested their top order with the new ball. The trio extracted plenty of swing and seam movement, as well as bounce, to beat the bat on multiple occasions. J&K managed just 25 runs in the first 14 overs, during which they lost Qamran Iqbal, who was brought in for Shubham Khajuria.
Iqbal's wicket brought Yawer and Pundir together at 18 for 1, and they went on to add 139 for the second wicket.
While the pair wasn't entirely in control when the ball was new and the bowlers fresh, Yawer didn't mind throwing his bat whenever the line was wide or the length too short. In the 15th over, he punched Prasidh for four by confidently riding the bounce of a shortish delivery. Next ball, he opened the face of the bat to drive for three through point.
Next over, Yawer drove and punched Vyshak for back-to-back boundaries. In the 17th over, Pundir drove Prasidh for two carbon-copy boundaries down the ground. That helped J&K snatch the momentum from Karnataka, who introduced Gopal in the 19th over, but that only made things worse for them.
The legspinner's first spell of five overs cost 26, as he often bowled short and was punished by Yawer and Pundir, who looked increasingly assured with every passing over. Yawer got to his fifty at the start of the 27th over, the last of Gopal's first spell, and J&K went to lunch at 104 for 1.
Pundir reached his half-century in the second session, when he slashed Vidyadhar for four in the 45th over, by which time his partnership with Yawer had crossed 100, as both batters forced Karnataka to search for answers. Karnataka had replaced Gopal with left-arm spinner Shikhar Shetty in the hope that the latter would stall J&K's flow. Only for their wicketkeeper Kruthik Krishna to shatter it.
Shetty had checked the flow of runs and, in the 50th over, beat Pundir with turn. The batter had advanced down and missed the ball, but so did Kruthik. Pundir, 53 at the time, went back undefeated. But six balls later, Prasidh had Yawer caught by KL Rahul to end the stand, as both wickets on the day read c Rahul b Prasidh.
Prasidh bowled with renewed fire in the second session. In the 57th over, he left the new batter and J&K captain Paras Dogra shaken with a short ball, which hit his collar bone. Dogra seemed cramped for room and rushed by the pace. Repeated short balls forced Dogra to stand deep in the crease, often giving the impression that he was expecting every delivery to be dug into the pitch.
Dogra eventually retired hurt in the 63rd over when Vyshak pinged him on the glove with another short ball. Dogra's stay ended on 9 off 48 balls, and at 179 for 2, Samad arrived and pressed the accelerator. He went 4, 4, 4 off Vidyadhar in the 69th over, and as if that aggression also rubbed onto Pundir, the latter launched Shetty for the first six of the innings next over.
Pundir reached his century with another six. He cleared the huge boundary at deep midwicket by skipping down against Shetty, making Karnataka look clueless as the final hour neared.
Gopal's ineffective day continued when Samad thumped him for six and four in the 85th over, before reaching his fifty off 64 balls in the penultimate over of the day.
