J&K beat WB to reach historic first-ever Ranji Trophy final

In a match that will live long in the memory of Jammu & Kashmir cricket, they defeated Bengal, two-time champions, by six wickets in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy semi-final in Kalyani to secure a historic first appearance in the final. In what has been a fairytale season for them, Abdul Samad's 82 and 30* (in just 27 balls), Auqib Nabi's match-high 9 for 123, and Vanshaj Sharma's unbeaten 43 in the second innings were the foundations of J&K's victory. J&K were in the ascendancy when Vanshaj and Shubham Pundir walked out on Wednesday, requiring 83 with eight wickets in hand. Very quickly, they realised the target would not be a cakewalk with Mohammed Shami and Akash Deep getting the ball to move around. Both bowlers beat the bat in the first half-an-hour with J&K not taking any risks. Pundir, who looked solid on the third evening, broke the shackles by playing Akash Deep fluently through midwicket. However, Shami used a peach to almost immediately clip his wings. He landed the length ball on off and got it to hoop back into Pundir from the angle around the wicket. The batter tried to hit a drive up, but he was too far away from the ball and was bowled cleanly. The captain of J&K, Paras Dogra, was then hit on the pad by a Shami inducker that Bengal sent upstairs, only for replays to show that the ball missed the leg stump. With the runs down to a trickle, the Bengal bowlers sensed a chance for a comeback. Dogra was constantly bothered by Akash Deep's short approach. After a while, he got his first four and got the target below 60, but Akash Deep got his man quickly. Floating the ball full and wide, he tempted Dogra into a drive, who took the bait, only managing a thin edge to the right of wicketkeeper Habib Gandhi, who dived to complete the catch. After numerous replays, the third umpire decided to go with Bengal to ensure that the catch was fair. At 71 for 4, and still requiring 55 for a win, the game could have gone either way but Samad, much like in the first innings, pushed Bengal out of the contest. He thumped Akash Deep over wide long-on for a flat six and then found a four to bring the target below 50. Samad smashed Shahbaz Ahmed for back-to-back sixes, one over long-on and the other over deep extra cover, as soon as he entered the fight. Vanshaj, who had been cautious all morning, went after Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal for three fours in an over before tossing Mukesh Kumar straight over the bowler's head, igniting wild celebrations in the J&K camp. This occurred as the nerves in the J&K camp settled down. Sixty-seven years after their maiden Ranji appearance, J&K have made it to their first final.