Srinagar, February 19: After a toiling first day in Ranji Trophy, not many would have predicted J&K being on verge of an outright win on third day, but thanks to some fabulous bowling by Parvez Rasool and elegant batting from Abdul Samad, Qamran Iqbal and others.
With Pondicherry nine wickets down in second innings and a lead of mere 30 runs, one could say that J&K are just a step away from starting Ranji Trophy on a winning note. They, of course, have a chance to grab as many as seven points (one extra point) from the game if they win by 10 wickets.
Resuming the innings on 260/3 this morning, Qamran Iqbal fell on overnight score of 96. Abdul Samad, on the other hand, finished with an attacking hundred (103 off 78). Abid Mushtaq also contributed 40 runs down the order to give J&K a healthy 83-run first-innings lead.
Earlier, Jatin Wadhwan and Shubham Pundir had also struck fifties while Parvez Rasool bagged four wickets in the first half.
The first-innings lead meant J&K coming out to bowl with full confidence in the second innings. Auqib Nabi got his team an early breakthrough, following which spin-duo of Parvez Rasool and Abid Mushtaq wreck havoc.
Parvez, continuing his good form from first innings, picked a five-wicket-haul while Abid Mushtaq also took a couple of wickets. Umran Malik too scalped a solitary wicket.
Now with just one wicket in hand, J&K would expect to bowl out Pondicherry as early as possible tomorrow morning. They will then surely look to chase down the total with all 10 wickets in hand, so as to get the bonus point.