Pundir’s unbeaten ton puts Jammu and Kashmir in command vs Karnataka

A masterful unbeaten century from Shubham Pundir and a tenacious 88 from young Yawer Hassan saw Jammu amp Kashmir seize control of the Ranji Trophy final ending the opening day at a solid 284 for two and leaving Karnatakas bowlers searching for answers here on TuesdayPundir the 27yearold lefthanded batter was 117 not out at stumps and giving him company was Abdul Samad on 52 the duo having added 105 runs for the third wicket after skipper Paras Dogra retired hurt This was after Pundir and Yawer stitched together a stand of 139 runs to lay the foundation for a big total against the eighttime champions whose batters have a great record at this venuePundir reached his hundred in style smashing Shikhar Shetty for a six over deep midwicketHe marked reaching the landmark by removing his helmet and raising his arms in the direction of the dressing room Earlier on a pitch that is likely to break up as the game progresses Jammu and Kashmir won a good toss and Dogras decision to bat first was on expected lines Playing in their maiden Ranji final after an inspired run that saw them claim away victories against established teams such as Madhya Pradesh and Bengal in the knockouts JampK lost Qamran Iqbal 6 earlyThe opener poked at a Prasidh Krishna delivery that straightened a bit to induce an outside edge for KL Rahul to complete a comfortable catch in the slip cordon The lack of foot movement from Qamran played a part in the days first wicket but JampKs decision to bat first was vindicated by Yawer and Pundir the duo carrying the team to 104 for one at lunchYawer was unbeaten on 57 at the lunch break and Pundir was on 38 as the duo batted with confidence to keep the experienced Karnataka bowling attack at bayIt was not easy out there in the middle and there were numerous plays and misses and a few streaky edges too but both Yawer and Pundir saw off the difficult period against the new ball Yawer and Pundir may not have looked the most fluent but they were effective nonetheless stitching together a big partnership for the second wicket while keeping the scoreboard ticking at around three runs an overThe Karnataka bowlers the three pacers and legspinner Shreyas Gopal were disciplined with their line and length but didnt get any reward for their perseverance Shreyas the seasons leading wickettaker with 55 scalps heading into the title clash too beat the bat on a few occasions but did not taste success even as Yawer and Pundir looked to go after him with a determination to not allow him to settle into a nice rhythmThe 22yearold Yawer who made his First Class debut in former India captain Rohit Sharmas last redball game in 2025 and had gone nine games without a fifty chose the big occasion to show his wares and found the fence 13 timesHowever having done all the hard work in the company of Pundir while approaching his maiden hundred Yawer fell to Prasidh prodding at a delivery outside the offstump to give a catch to Rahul at first slip Both dismissals for the day were similar in nature Before making the breakthrough Prasidh had tested Yawer with a bouncer that hit the batter on the body and required medical attentionCaptain Dogra was hit on his neck by a sharp bouncer from Prasidh after which the seamer appealed for a catch at forward shortleg thinking that the ball may have grazed the glove but replays showed that it did not and the batter was safe However Dogra while attempting to fend off the bouncer did get hurt and the physio was called in to apply ice packThe JampK physio was summoned again after some time with the ice pack to tend to Dogra who had by then taken a few blows and this time the skipper was on his way back to the dressing room after receiving a signal from coach Ajay Sharma paving the way for Samads entry into the middle Pundir and Samad then batted with ease to accumulate runs and consolidate JampKs position with their unbroken century partnershipThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever