Raipur, November 1: Jammu and Kashmir fought back strongly after a disastrous start to finish Day 1 at 195/4 against Chhattisgarh in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group D clash at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur.
Fast bowler Ravi Kiran rocked J&K early, removing Qamran Iqbal and Yawer Hassan off consecutive deliveries in the opening over to leave the visitors reeling at 0/2. However, experienced duo Shubham Khajuria and skipper Paras Dogra steadied the innings with a composed 92-run partnership for the third wicket.
Dogra crafted a fluent 59 before falling leg-before to Ajay Jadav Mandal, while Khajuria held firm, remaining unbeaten on 78 at stumps. Abdul Samad contributed 15 before edging to Ashutosh Singh off Ravi Kiran, who ended the day as the standout bowler with figures of 3 wickets.
Wicketkeeper-batter Kanhaiya Wadhawan supported Khajuria with a patient 31 not out, guiding J&K to a steady recovery after early setbacks. At stumps, the visitors reached 195/4 in 75 overs, scoring at a run rate of 2.6.
Day 2 will be crucial as J&K look to build on their platform, while Chhattisgarh will aim for early breakthroughs with the second new ball approaching.
