Irani Cup: Jammu & Kashmir pacers bowl Rest of India out for 237 on opening day in Srinagar

On Thursday in Srinagar, during the opening day of the Irani Cup fixture at the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium, Jammu & Kashmir’s pace attack bowled Rest of India out for 237 and then reached 21 for two by stumps in their first innings.

Clear overhead conditions and bright sunshine masked a surface that retained a healthy covering of grass, placing a premium on seam bowling; Auqib Nabi was absent for Jammu & Kashmir because of his involvement in India’s ODI series against the West Indies, yet the host pace unit produced results with Sunil Kumar and Lone Nasir each taking three wickets.

Rest of India’s innings was held up by opener Shikhar Mohan, who made 60, and No. 6 R. Smaran, who scored 68 off 83 balls; Shikhar’s defence and cover drives lifted the visitors to 106 for two at lunch before he edged a wide half-volley from Nasir shortly after the interval, a dismissal that preceded a middle-order collapse.

Between lunch and tea Rest of India lost five wickets for 49 runs in 22.2 overs as the pitch offered movement; Rishabh Pant managed 10, Sarfaraz Khan scored 45, and Smaran added late runs through partnerships of 39 with Akash Deep and 43 with Mukesh Choudhary, while Pant’s attempt to drive left him vulnerable and he was caught at cover point.

Sunil Kumar emerged as the most successful J&K bowler, extracting deviation and finishing with figures of 20.1-9-36-3; Lone Nasir returned 13-0-59-3, Umar 18-6-65-2, Mushtaq 6-0-26-1 and Lotra 11-0-50-1, combining to bowl Rest of India out in 68.1 overs with extras (b-1, w-1, nb-12) totaling 14.

Full Rest of India — 1st innings: Shikhar Mohan c Wadhawan b Nasir 60, Sanat Sangwan c Wadhawan b Sunil 1, Sudip Gharami c Samad b Nasir 8, Sarfaraz Khan c Wadhawan b Umar 45, Rishabh Pant c Qamran b Umar 10, R. Smaran c Samad b Nasir 68, Saransh Jain b Lotra 5, Manav Suthar lbw b Sunil 2, Akash Deep c Samad b Mushtaq 22, Mukesh Choudhary b Sunil 2, Mukesh Kumar (not out) 0; Extras (b-1, w-1, nb-12): 14; Total (in 68.1 overs): 237. Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-32, 3-108, 4-133, 5-137, 6-150, 7-155, 8-194, 9-237.

Jammu & Kashmir — 1st innings at stumps: Qamran Iqbal (batting) 12, Shubham Pundir c Pant b Choudhary 1, Umar Nazir c Pant b Akash 4, Shubham Khajuria (batting) 0; Extras (b-4): 4; Total (for two wkts. in seven overs): 21. Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-21. Rest of India bowling: Mukesh 2-0-5-0, Choudhary 3-1-3-1, Akash 2-0-9-1.

At stumps on the opening day Jammu & Kashmir were 21 for two in their first innings, having reduced Rest of India to 237 earlier in the day, leaving the match poised for further contest on day two.