J&K close to victory, Abid takes 10 wkts on spinning paradise

After taking a 5-wicket haul in the first innings, talented left-arm spinner Abid Mushtaq wreaked havoc in second inning, spinning web around the rival batters, to capture 5 wickets and make a match haul of 10 wickets, thus helping Jammu and Kashmir to come close to victory against Pondicherry in a low scoring Ranji Trophy Group-D match at Siechem Cricket Stadium, Pondicherry today. Another left-arm spinner and debutant, Vanshaj Sharma, who also captured 5 wickets in the first innings, again showed brilliance and took 2 important wickets to play a vital role in J&K’s dominance. Earlier, resuming from an overnight score of 0/1, J&K managed to score 152 runs in the second innings to set a target of 87 runs for the hosts. Wicketkeeper batter Fazil Rashid top scored with 36 runs, while Shubham Singh Pundir and skipper Shubham Khajuria contributed 30 and 25 runs to the total respectively. Sahil Lotra also contributed 19 runs to the total, while Abdul Samad and Abid Mushtaq chipped in with 11 runs each. Skipper Rohit D took 4 wickets by conceding 46 runs in his 18 overs, while Sagar P Udeshi bagged 3 wickets and Sidak Singh claimed 2 wickets. Chasing a paltry total of 87 runs, Pondicherry were struggling at 35/7 at stumps on day-2 today. Sidak Singh (3) and skipper Rohit D (2) were at the crease. Paras Dogra (12) was the only batter to cross double figure mark. For J&K, Abid Mushtaq was the wrecker-in-chief, who captured 5 wickets by giving away 17 runs in his 12 overs, while Vanshaj Sharma bagged 2 wickets by conceding 15 runs in 6 overs. Earlier, on day-1, J&K bundled out for a paltry total of 106 runs in the first innings after winning the toss and electing to bat first. Fazil Rashid (27), Shubham Singh Pundir (21) and skipper Shubham Khajuria (15) were the main contributors, while Abdul Samad also chipped in with 10 runs. Sidak Singh was the pick of the bowlers for Pondicherry, who captured 5 wickets by conceding 39 runs in 13.4 overs, while Sagar P Udeshi bagged 3 wickets and Rohit D claimed 2 wickets. In reply, Pondicherry rode on a magnificent fifty by the experienced campaigner Paras Dogra and KB Arun Karthick and scored 172 runs, thus gaining a vital first innings lead of 66 runs. Paras scored 58 off 107 balls with 3 boundaries, while Karthick contributed 50 off 5