Jammu and Kashmir created history and extended their purple run as they beat Kerala to make it to their first-ever quarterfinal in the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Saturday.
In-form Auqib Nabi headlined the show with his career-best 4/39 to help Jammu and Kashmir bundle out Kerala for 174 in 47.4 overs as they won their first Vijay Hazare Trophy knockout match I opted to field.
In reply, J&K won in 37.5 overs with Shubham Khajuria (76) and Kamran Iqbal (51) sharing a 113-run partnership in 21.4 overs. In the form of his life, Khajuria hit six sixes and five fours in his 61-ball knock, which was his fourth consecutive half-century this season.
However, he was run out for the second time in a row as Jammu and Kashmir lost three wickets in addition for just 32 runs. But there was no pressure from the scoreboard and Henan Nazir and Fazil Rashid registered their sixth win in seven matches this season. J&K’s pace trio of Nabi, Yudhvir Singh (2/16) and left-arm pacer Mujtaba Yousuf (1/37) accounted for seven batsmen as Kerala struggled to get going.
Opener Vinoop Mahaharan top-scored for Kerala with 62 off 81 balls but Yudhveer wreaked havoc with Nabi’s dreamy spell by dismissing him in the 32nd over.
Taking 12 wickets in seven matches, Nabi and Yudhvir have done exceptionally well for J&K this season. The Ajay Sharma-coached side had troubled defending Ranji champions Madhya Pradesh while chasing a mammoth target of 343 with two wickets in hand.
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They also defeated Baroda, Odisha and Nagaland with little trouble. Their only defeat came against Group D toppers Punjab as they finished second in the league stage.
Jammu and Kashmir will next take on Assam on Monday, November 28, in the quarter-finals of the tournament.
(Inputs PTI)