Abdul Samad becomes first Jammu and Kashmir cricketer to hit twin centuries in Ranji Trophy

22-year-old Abdul Samad became the first Jammu and Kashmir cricketer to score twin centuries in Ranji Trophy history. Against Odisha, the middle order batter made 127 runs in the first innings as the visitors posted 270 runs in the first innings. Samad had very little support from the other end but despite that, the youngster managed to keep going and prolonged his innings which gave J&K the hope of taking a first innings lead.

However, that wasn’t achieved as Odisha managed a two-run lead. Captain Govinda Poddar made 133* runs for his team, which helped the hosts pick up an important lead in the context of the game. Meanwhile, J&K had a better start to the second innings, as the opener Shubham Khajuria made 43 runs and Shubham Pundir made 40. 

Check Out - Odisha vs Jammu and Kashmir scorecard

Batting at number four, Samad once again played a vital knock, scoring an unbeaten 108 runs off the same number of balls. He batted aggressively and that was the need of the hour as J&K were desperate for a result. Samad’s knock gave the team much-needed confidence and the belief to do well with the ball and pick up the win. Notably, the Paras Dogra-led side declared for 270/7 in the third innings and set a target of 269 runs.

Odisha interestingly lost three quick wickets which put the team on the back foot. Openers Shantanu Mishra and Anurag Sarangi made six and one run respectively, which was followed by a poor innings from Kartik Biswal. The hosts were reduced to 14/3 and that would give Jammu and Kashmir the necessary confidence to bowl out Odisha on the final day and pick up the win.

Abid Mushtaq has been the star with the ball for J&K on Day 4 as he has picked up two wickets in the first session of the day. Sahil Lotra picked up the other one. Yudhvir Singh Charak, who was one of the net bowlers for India during the Bangladesh series, can also prove to be vital for the team on the last day.