How Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma are damaging India | T20 World Cup
The result, a 6-wicket win, was emphatic, although there were moments when the match seemed to slip away. Set 126 to win, the team completed the chase in 34.4 overs and completed it before lunch on the 4th day.“I have played Ranji finals several times. But this time it is different. I have not slept for the last three nights. I will sleep well today,” said an elated coach Ajay Sharma, once a fixture of the domestic scene in Delhi.As history beckoned, J&K started Day 4 in touch, only 83 runs out, but Bengal hit them hard. Akash Deep, already between the wickets, struck twice to remove Shubham Khajuria and Yawer Hassan, then came back to send back skipper Paras Dogra.Mohammed Shami, tireless as ever, bowled Shubham Pundir to widen the wicket briefly for a comeback. But Abdul Samad and Sharma wrapped it up with authority with an unbeaten fifth-wicket partnership of 55 runs that took J&K to the line without another stumble. Samad’s unbeaten 30 off 27 balls, studded with three sixes, provided the final fire. Sharma’s 43 not out off 83 balls provided peace.The semi-final saw J&K refuse to panic after surrendering the lead in the first innings. Bengal piled up 328, powered by Sudip Kumar Gharami’s superb 146, and then had J&K 302 in reply, with Shami breaking through the innings with 8/90. Still, J&K stayed within reach through Samad’s counter-attack of 82, Dogra’s 58 and valuable lower-order runs that kept the deficit at 26.Few might have expected that J&K would overturn this deficit in a ticket to the final. But Sharma insisted that faith never wavered. “I told the boys that the match is not over. We still have two days left. Cricket always gives you a second chance. Red-ball cricket is a dangerous game,” said the 61-year-old Sharma.The third day brought the decisive impetus of the match. Under pressure, Bengal collapsed to 99 in just 25.1 overs. Sunil Kumar took 4/27 and Auqib Nabi – the breakthrough fast bowler this season – took 4/36 to finish the match at 9/123, having also chipped in with 42 with the bat earlier. Dogra underscored how quickly the equation was changing. “It was not a significant lead (26 runs) and we still had seven games to play. But of course we never expected them (Bengal) to drop so cheaply,” he said. The final will hold personal significance for Dogra, the veteran who crossed 10,000 Ranji runs during this match and now finds himself in the running for the trophy that has eluded him. “It will be big for me. My first Ranji final too. I never thought I would get such a good group of players,” Dogra said, adding, “From the start of the season, everyone believed we could win the Ranji Trophy.”Both Dogra and Sharma could not stop talking about pacer Nabi. “It’s a match winner for us,” said Dogra. “He has a good work ethic and has been disciplined. Coach Sharma believes bigger things are not far for the 29-year-old native of Baramulla. “Age is on his side and he has developed his skills. He will play in the IPL (for Delhi Capitals) and if he performs there, the sky is the limit for him,” Sharma said.The final follows and J&K have earned the right to dream all the way.Short Score: J&K 302 (Samad 82, Shami 8-90) & 126/4 (Vanshaj 43, Samad 30*, Akash Deep 3-46) beat Bengal 328 (Gharami 146, Nabi 5-87) & 99 (Shahbaz 24-24, Nabiwick 4) 46-33 Sunil 6MEN BEYOND THE MILESTONE: KEY TEAM AFFECTSAuqib Nabi: The medium pacer took 12 wickets (7/40 & 5/70) against MP in the quarter final and 9 (5/87 & 4/36) in the semi final. Nabi has a 8.4 cr IPL contract with Delhi Capitals. Will the India Test call-up follow? Games this season: 9, runs: 55, average: 12.7, economy rate: 2.7, strikeouts: 28.5Sunil Kumar: The left arm medium cruise control was perfect for Nabi. His 3/41 and 4/27 in the semi-final proved crucial. Games: 8, Week: 29, Avg: 15.1, ER: 2.6, SR: 34.9Abdul Samad: The middle-order bat under pressure managed to pull off a few saves. He first hit 82 in the semi-final, then scored an unbeaten 30 off 27 balls to complete a tricky chase. Games: 9, Hits: 655, Avg: 59.5Dogra Paras: The captain led both with the bat and tactically. Fittingly, the 41-year-old became only the second batsman to cross 10,000 runs in the Ranji Trophy. Games: 9, Hits: 551, Avg: 42.4