Ranji Trophy Final: J&K make Karnataka toil, end Day 2 at 527/6

HUBBALLI: Paras Dogra endured a bruising opening day in the Ranji Trophy final, taking a couple of blows from the Karnataka pacers and even being forced to retire hurt. The hosts’ short-pitched bowling clearly troubled the veteran Jammu and Kashmir skipper.On Wednesday morning, however, the battle-hardened pro returned with renewed purpose. Dogra arrived nearly an hour early at the KSCA Rajnagar Stadium to work on handling the short ball. While he was not entirely untroubled, he did enough to help his side tighten their grip on the final.For the second successive day, Karnataka’s experienced attack was made to toil on a placid surface. The visitors reached a commanding 527/6 in 156 overs before bad light, followed by rain, forced an early close. A total of 69 overs were bowled on the day — enough for J&K to move closer to their objective of batting the eight-time champions out of the contest.Such has been their dominance that six J&K batters have crossed fifty, with Shubham Pundir’s century (121; 247b; 12x4; 2x6) laying the foundation for troubling Karnataka in their backyard.On a surface that has raised questions for a title clash, the Karnataka bowlers alternated between threatening and ordinary. The persistent use of short balls and bouncers brought little reward as the batters settled into long partnerships. For a brief period in the morning session, Karnataka appeared to be clawing their way back. Vyshak Vijaykumar and Prasidh Krishna extracted movement and bounce with the new ball, creating pressure.The end of Shubham Pundir’s near-flawless innings, which lasted over six and a half hours, came in anticlimactic fashion. The centurion, who added just four runs to his overnight score of 117, mistimed a flick off Vidyadhar Patil and substitute fielder KV Aneesh completed a regulation catch at short square leg. The dangerous Abdul Samad (61) followed soon after, edging Prasidh to wicketkeeper Kruthik Krishna while attempting an expansive drive outside off stump. But J&K’s resilient batting line-up ensured Karnataka never built sustained pressure.Karnataka, usually among the sharper fielding sides, have looked below their best in the field, spilling a couple of catches and failing to convert half-chances at crucial moments. Dogra (70; 166b; 8x4) and Kanhaiya Wadhawan (70; 109b; 9x4) ensured the early setbacks did not dent the visitors’ momentum.To stay in contention, Karnataka will need to wrap up the remaining wickets quickly on the third day and then begin the daunting task of overhauling the massive J&K first innings total.Brief scores: (At the end of Day 2) Jammu & Kashmir 527/6 (S Pundir 121, Y Hassan 88, P Dogra 70, K Wadhawan 70, A Samad 61; P Krishna 3/90) vs Karnataka.