Paras Dogra toiled hard for 25 seasons. Year by year, he worked hard in the scorching heat of India, dishing out gritty performances. No one noticed. Yet, he continued. Now, he is on the front page of Indian cricket. The T20 World Cup 2026 is going on, but Paras Dogra has become the face of the Indian domestic cricket alongside exciting pacer Auqib Nabi as the two marched Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) to their maiden Ranji Trophy title. Truly a red letter day, for the team which started the season as ‘minnows’.
In their maiden final appearance, Jammu and Kashmir have outplayed eight-time champions Karnataka across all five commanding days in Hubballi. Playing their first Ranji Trophy final, J&K upstaged a team that has won the title the second-most time. A team that had the likes of KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Devdutt Padikkal, Karun Nair and Prasidh Krishna – all five who have tasted success in international cricket. J&K, meanwhile, had just 3 players in their starting lineup who have played IPL cricket, let alone having a taste of international cricket.
Jammu and Kashmir sweep Karnataka from Day 1
After winning the toss, J&K showed no signs of nerves, ending the opening day at 284/2. Yawer Hassan’s 88 and Shubham Pundir’s unbeaten 64 set the tone against a Karnataka attack featuring Prasidh Krishna. The platform was solid for Day 1 that saw Karnataka bowlers get tired.
Day 2 belonged entirely to J&K again. Pundir went on to make 121, Paras Dogra fought through pain to score 70 despite an ugly headbutt incident that later cost him 50% of his match fee, and Kanhaiya Wadhawan added 70. By stumps, J&K had piled on 527/6, eventually finishing at a towering 584. By then, the match was done. No way Karnataka batters would’ve come close to making almost 600 runs. And that is exactly what happened. Despite the pitch offering almost nothing to bowlers, J&K came out with an all-out attack and Karnataka succumbed under the pressure.
Auqib Dar stuns big guns of Karnataka
Day 3 belonged to the Player of the Tournament, Auqib Dar. He seized the spotlight. On a pitch offering little assistance, the right-arm pacer dismantled Karnataka’s celebrated top order. KL Rahul, Karun Nair and Smaran Ravichandran fell in a devastating spell as Karnataka slumped to 57/4. Though Mayank Agarwal stood tall with a defiant 130*, Karnataka closed at 220/5, still 364 behind.
Day 4 confirmed J&K as the winners of the tournament. Jubilation ran across the side that toppled the likes of Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan and others in their run to the finals. Nabi returned to claim a five-wicket haul and reached 60 wickets for the season, joining an elite list in Ranji history. Karnataka were bowled out for 293, conceding a massive 291-run first-innings deficit. J&K then batted with authority again, reaching 186/4 with Qamran Iqbal unbeaten on 94, stretching the lead to 477.
On Day 5, Iqbal, who missed out in the first innings, completed his century. In fact, he tired Karnataka bowlers so much that had to hand the ball to KL Rahul and Karun Nair. A total of seven bowlers were used by Karnataka in the second innings. Sahil Lotra, meanwhile, seized the moment to score his maiden FC century of his own. What a time to make it.
The match ended in draw, with J&K winning on the basis of their first innings lead. The partnership between Sahil and Qamran remained unbeaten at 197.
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