New Delhi, Oct 1: Ranji Trophy champions Jammu & Kashmir made a strong start to the Irani Cup, bowling out a strong Rest of India (RoI) side for 237 on the opening day at the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium in Srinagar.
Opting to bowl on a spicy surface, J&K’s pace attack kept RoI under pressure for most of the day, with Sunil Kumar and Lone Nasir Muzaffar claiming three wickets apiece. In the absence of spearhead Auqib Nabi, who is with India for the ongoing ODI series against the West Indies, Umar Mir and Sunil made early inroads, with the latter dismissing Sanat Sangwan before Nasir removed Sudip Kumar Gharami.
RoI recovered through Shikhar Mohan and Sarfaraz Khan, who added 76 for the third wicket. Sarfaraz relied on his backfoot play against the seamers, while Mohan struck nine fours and a six before edging Nasir behind for 48.
Smaran first added 39 with Akash Deep, who contributed 22 off 24 balls, before putting on another 43 with Mukesh Choudhary. The left-hander made 68 off 101 balls, ensuring RoI crossed 200 despite losing wickets regularly.
J&K’s reply also got off to a shaky start. Mukesh Choudhary dismissed Shubham Pundir, while Umar Nazir, sent in as a nightwatchman, lasted only nine balls before edging Akash Deep just before stumps.
J&K ended the day on 21/2, leaving the match finely poised after a day dominated by the bowlers.
Brief scores: Rest of India 237 (Smaran Ravichandran 68, Shikhar Mohan 60; Sunil Kumar 3/36, Lone Nasir Muzaffar 3/59) lead Jammu & Kashmir 21/2 (Mukesh Choudhary 1/3) by 216 runs.
