Jammu & Kashmir find paradise in Mumbai

Arsalan Gundroo, 22, a computer science student at the DY Patil Institute of Engineering, Pune, has not been attending college for the last four days. And he did not mind missing out on important lectures. However, he made it a point to watch the four-day Ranji Trophy Group A tie between Mumbai and his beloved Jammu & Kashmir at the Wankhede Stadium.

Gundroo, a former J&K Under-19 cricketer, had never imagined he would witness history being created in this fashion. On Wednesday, he was a content lad. After all, he'd watched Parvez Rasool & Co humble the 40-time champions by four wickets in their very first meeting.

On the second ball of the 70th over on Day Four, wicketkeeper-batsman Obaid Haroon gently pushed Mumbai seamer Shardul Thakur for a single to the cover region. This laid the foundation of J&K's celebrations as they made history.

What followed was a quick run by J&K players to the wicket to congratulate Haroon (9*, 20 balls, 1x4) and his partner Hardeep Singh (41*, 77 balls, 4x4) while travelling media manager Shahana Fatima Zargar's knelt down to thank the almighty.

The visitors then shook hands with the opposition before obliging the photographers. The smiles on every player's face revealed how important the win was. Especially, after what they went through a couple of months ago, when their state was struck by debilitating floods.

"This is unbelievable. It is one of the biggest moments in our history," said a visibly elated Gundroo.

However, before all the smiles, there were some heartaches too. J&K, who started the final day at 58/1, seemed to be cruising with first-innings centurion Shubham Khajuria (78, 140 balls, 10x4, 1x6) at the crease. As the day progressed, the tension only increased. First, a set Bandeep Singh was dismissed by Abhishek Nayar for 12. That made it 66/2.

With the batting heavily dependent on the top order, J&K had no option but to make the most of it. Khajuria stitched a 52-run partnership for the third wicket with Ian Dev Singh (30, 35 balls, 4x4). Once the duo looked settled, Singh repeated the mistake he committed in the first innings by gifting a simple catch to short extra-cover. Left-arm spinner Vishal Dabholkar was the bowler.

Skipper Rasool was the next man in. He could not afford a mistake. He was chasing history. The India all-rounder played with responsibility and did not shy away from playing the pull. He stitched a 53-run stand with Khajuria, who held one end up.

Once Mumbai captain Suryakumar Yadav brought in left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla for the first time in the morning, he delivered. He scalped the dangerman Khajuria by inviting him to drive. An inside-out shot saw him hit one straight back into the hands of the bowler. Rasool (32) followed him by getting bowled behind the legs while trying to sweep Dabholkar.

As J&K took lunch at 183/5, the match was evenly poised with Mumbai still in the hunt.

The next session was crucial for J&K. And middle-order batsman Hardeep chose to stick around and face the pressure. He added 44 runs with southpaw Waseem Raza who survived a few close calls before the latter was run out while going for the second run.

Singh, however, did not lose hope. He got a couple of quick boundaries against Abdulla and Dabholkar to take his side closer to the finish line. However, it was Haroon who got the opportunity to seal the deal. Soon after completing the single, he and Singh jumped and punched the air.

Skipper Rasool could not hide his joy. "Nothing is bigger than beating Mumbai in Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy. This is our answer to all those who questioned us, saying we would struggle in the Elite Group," said Rasool.