Ranji Trophy: Paras Dogra’s gritty ton takes J&K to brink of historic semis spot

Pune, Feb 11 (IANS) With Jammu & Kashmir on the cusp of a historic maiden Ranji Trophy semifinal, the veteran batter and skipper Paras Dogra delivered under pressure to register his maiden First-Class century of the season after 14 innings and eight matches, crafting a sublime 132 off 232 balls to power his team to 399/9 in the second innings, securing a commanding 398-run lead over Kerala.

Despite J&K’s strong position, the match remains delicately poised, with Kerala reaching 100/2 at stumps on Day 4, still trailing by 299 runs. Going into the final day, Kerala will look to bat out three sessions, while J&K’s bowlers must rise to the challenge and script a fairytale finish.

Dogra’s innings was a testament to patience and skill as he weathered Kerala’s pace attack before unleashing his trademark fluency. He built two crucial partnerships — a 146-run stand with Kanhaiya Wadhawan, followed by a 50-run partnership with Sahil Lotra —ensuring that J&K stretched their lead to near-insurmountable proportions.

The experienced batter played each ball on merit, finding the perfect balance between caution and aggression. His knock featured 13 boundaries and two sixes, and he was ably supported by Wadhawan (64 off 116 balls, 5×4), who notched yet another fifty in a promising season.

There were early appeals from Kerala’s pacers, N.P. Basil and M.D. Nidheesh, but Dogra capitalised on his luck, steadily accumulating runs and stamping his authority with crisp boundaries. Wadhawan, looking set for his maiden century, perished after edging a regulation catch to Sachin Baby at slip off Basil, but Dogra remained unfazed, ensuring J&K stayed in control.

Dogra’s hunger for runs was evident as he raced to his 32nd First-Class ton, with Sahil Lotra providing solid support. Lotra’s aggressive 59 off 77 balls (6×4, 1×6) kept the scoreboard ticking as J&K piled on the pressure.

However, after reaching his century, Dogra attempted to accelerate but was cleaned up by Aditya Sarvate. M.D. Nidheesh then struck twice in quick succession, returning with another four-wicket haul, as Kerala finally managed to stem the run flow late in the innings.

Brief scores:

Jammu & Kashmir 280 & 399/9 decl in 100.2 overs (Paras Dogra 132, Kanhaiya Wadhawan 64, Sahil Lotra 59; M.D. Nidheesh 4-89, Nedumankuzhy Basil 2-100, Aditya Sarwate 2-76) lead Kerala 281 & 100/2 in 36 overs (Rohan Kunnummal 36, Akshay Chandran 32 not out; Yudhvir Singh 2-31) by 298 runs.

–IANS

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