Shubham Pundir was 16 when he made his Ranji Trophy debut in 2015. The third-youngest ever to play for J&K, he was soon cast out into the wilderness for three years. The stop-start nature has never faded from the No. 3 batter’s profile, averaging 27 in his entire career of 31 games.
Pundir’s top-order partner, Yawer Hassan, earned his first cap when India heavyweight Rohit Sharma turned up for what would eventually be his last First-Class appearance last year. Young Yawer, an elegant right-handed opener in Rohit’s ilk, didn’t have anything to write home about when a five-wicket J&K coup over Mumbai was set up by the bowlers. Hassan’s snappy 20-odd knocks did not weigh much but left glimpses of a firm prospect. Ear-picked from a talent hunt program, the promise failed to light up the scoresheets, averaging 14 from as many innings,
All that would change during a momentous start to J&K’s maiden Ranji Trophy final against the star-studded Karnataka side in Hubbali on Tuesday.
Elegant drives, powerful strikes, and a memorable milestone 💯
🎥 Glimpses of Shubham Pundir’s phenomenal century as he marches on in the #RanjiTrophy Final!
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Repositioning the billing from a battle between their bowling and the hosts’ stacked batting group, J&K’s young ramparts stubbed Devdutt Padikkal’s bowlers in chunks on the opening day. Chalking off 284 for two in 87 overs, Pundir (115 batting) and Hassan (88) shored up momentum to build a hefty mound that could soon match the Nruptanga hills in the distance during round two of this bout on Wednesday. Bicep-flex from an ever-ready Abdul Samad (52 batting) meant the charge on a flatbed wicket had begun late evening.
There were no unsettling nerves, even for an inconsistent top order. That much was clear when Hassan earnestly claimed that his team has locked in on tripling the shares, up to “650-700” in the forthcoming sessions. “Banaane padega,” he says, throwing a reminder of what Karnataka’s vaunted order could do on a benign pitch.
With a winding track leading up to the Unkal railway station on one side and an assembly line of timber mills on the other, the centre strip at the KSCA ground in Rajnagar does not belie its vicinity. Runs are served on a belter far too often here, even as 12 First-Class games have been scattered across a little over 13 years.
The toss favoured the visiting skipper, Paras Dogra, on a sultry morning. Batting first seemed like the only certainty, and so Dogra did. The only real blemish of a canter to the final has been the inconsistent J&K top-order. But by the time Dogra arrived at the crease in the afternoon and left the pitch copping one too many body-blows, Hassan and Pundir had played defining knocks of their careers thus far.
A vital contribution at the top of the order! 👊
🎥 Yawer Hassan sets the tone for Jammu & Kashmir with a hard-fought 88 (150)!
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A fairly swelling crowd, rooting for KL Rahul and the big stars in Karnataka’s batting group, were soon left muted by their largely listless day in the field. They will find their voice when the hosts belt out Mayank Agarwal, Devdutt Padikkal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair and finally breakout star Smaran R, who averages 95.
J&K’s match however, began with Hassan’s sound application – alien to his own rut of no scores crossing 30 in eight innings this season – nerfing a probing new-ball burst from Vidhyadhar Patil and V Vysakh. On a slightly moist surface that still assisted skiddy bumpers, Hassan applied an assortment of cuts. The dabs, slices and punches with an open bat-face made up for 68 of his runs between cover and third.
“There were chances that the drives could clip the edge off lengths on this pitch. And my cut shot is a little strong. So, I backed it,” the young Hassan from South Kashmir’s Bijibehara told reporters at stumps.
While Hassan disarmed the seamers with an offensive cut catalogue, the left-handed Pundir had quietly played himself to a half-century jotted with shots all around. Starting off with a firm sweep to the fine-leg fence off veteran leggie Shreyas Gopal, Pundir accounted for Prasidh Krishna’s around the stumps line with back-to-back biffs down to the sight screen.
Even as the mercurial Krishna found the shorter length rewarding on a sapping afternoon, nipping Hassan with a lifter that carried an edge to the slips, Pundir doubled down on the scoring. With an expansive spread on both sides, he offered tweakers Gopal and Shikhar Shetty no room to settle, seizing a steady diet of runs that matched up to Hassan’s cuts (68) before him. Pundir still reserved the best – a power-packed slog off Shetty over mid-wicket – to bring up his fourth century with a maximum.
Karnataka’s only bright spots during a grinding opening were the spurts of hope enforced by Krishna’s lifter. Having toppled both openers across two sessions with his favoured shorter lengths, Krishna landed a nasty blow on Dogra’s collarbone.
The J&K captain appeared the most iffy of the bats, opening the scoring only off his 15th delivery before being dropped on 7 at gully. He eventually retired after tea, landing another hit from Vysakh on the webbing of his right palm before the ball ricocheted off to the helmet.
Similar lines backfired against a muscular Samad who romped to a half-century in no time. And with Dogra declared fit to take the field again, J&K have inserted doubts into the minds of Padikkal’s one-dimensional bowling pack.
Brief Scores: J&K 284 for two in 87 overs (Shubham Pundir 115 batting, Yawer Hassan 88) vs Karnataka
