Jammu & Kashmir rides on Delhi Capitals' ₹8.40 crore IPL star Auqib Nabi's show to script history in Ranji Trophy

Jammu & Kashmir made way into their maiden Ranji Trophy semifinal on Monday after defeating former champions Madhya Pradesh in the quarterfinal. Auqib Nabi, who was bought for ₹8.40 crore by Delhi Capitals during the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction last December, was star of the show for Jammu and Kashmir.

The 29-year-old, who picked up a seven-wicket haul in the first innings, took a fifer in the second to finish the game with figures of 12/110 as 2021-22 season winners Madhya Pradesh were bundled out for 234 while chasing 291 runs for victory in the fourth innings. In the semifinal, Jammu & Kashmir is most likely to play against either Andhra Pradesh or Bengal.

Uttarakhand will play Karnataka in the first semifinal. Already reeling at 84/5, Madhya Pradesh needed a pair to hold on at the crease. Instead, it was Auqib whose double blow on Day 4 morning pretty much turned the game into Jammu and Kashmir's favour. Auqib first removed Ramveer Gurjar (11) and then got better of Saransh Jain (81-ball 64).

India all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer, who was recently bought by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for ₹7 crore, scored 104, but lacked support from the other end. Tailender Aryan Pandey was the last man to be out for 22. Shubham Sharma (32) also tried his best, but couldn't stay long.

For Jammu and Kashmir, left-arm spinner Abid Mushtaq also took 3/49, thus playing a crucial role.

Sudip Kumar Gharami's 299 powers Bengal

On the other hand, Sudip Kumar Gharami missed on a maiden triple hundred by just a run as Bengal tightened their grip over Andhra Pradesh at the end of the Day 4 stumps. In reply to Andhra's 295 in the first innings, Bengal rode on Gharami's 299 to post a mammoth 629. Besides Gharami, Sumanta Gupta (81), Shakir Habib Gandhi (95) and Mohammed Shami (53) also contributed.

The 26-year-old right-hander faced 596 balls for his 31 fours and six sixes in his marathon knock that rescued Bengal from early trouble and virtually batted Andhra out of the contest. Rock-solid in defence and tireless in concentration, Gharami batted for 930 minutes (15 and half hours), with his innings stretched across three days. He was bowled by a ball from Shaik Rasheed that kept alarmingly low and crashed into his off stump.

He became the first Indian and only the third batter in first-class cricket history to be dismissed for exactly 299, joining Martin Crowe and Mike Powell on an unwanted list. Don Bradman and Shantanu Sugwekar had remained unbeaten on 299. His 596-ball vigil is also the sixth-longest first-class innings by an Indian. With the first-innings lead already secured, Bengal await Jammu and Kashmir challenge in semifinals.