Buoyant J&K meets gritty Kerala for a place in last four

J&K will be hoping Umar Nazir, second right, strikes with the new ball.
| Photo Credit: PTI

A while after the teams reached the MCA Stadium on Friday morning, Kerala coach Amay Khurasiya and captain Sachin Baby had a closer look at the pitch. A few moments later, Jammu and Kashmir captain Paras Dogra followed suit.

As both the captains spoke to the ground staff, they seemed certain that with the surface offering a tinge of green, bowling first will be an advantage, and hence winning the toss will be crucial.

While it’s a challenge for Kerala to quickly adapt to the conditions, Jammu and Kashmir comes into the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal full of confidence.

Having performed exceedingly well on red-soil pitches and beaten Mumbai and Baroda on similar strips, the J&K camp would be hoping to make the most of another red-soil surface, and as seasoned campaigner Shubham Khajuria said, “By the looks of it, the surface should support our brand of cricket, and having played in such conditions early, we have a good chance.”

While J&K’s bowling department will be spearheaded by quicks Umar Nazir and Auqib Nabi, focus will be on off-spinner Sahil Lotra, who claimed a match-haul of 11 wickets in the last group league game against Baroda to guide the team to the quarterfinals.

However, middle-order has been an area of concern for J&K. While Khajuria has been among the runs, the middle-order batters have not been consistent, and even though Kanhaiya Wadhawan scored a gritty fifty in the previous game, it will be important for others to step up and deliver.

Kerala, on the other hand, will be hoping for Rohan Kunnummal to convert the start, while the batting will revolve largely around captain Baby, Shoun Roger and Salman Nizar, who scored a 150 against Bihar last week. On a surface that could initially back the fast bowlers, the onus will be on M.D. Nidheesh and N.P. Basil, while the team would expect its seasoned all-rounder Jalaj Saxena to do the trick.

“We played in Lahli this year against Haryana where the conditions were challenging, but we played well. Those experiences will matter as we approach this game,” Baby said.