Rain denies Madhya Pradesh victory as Jammu and Kashmir hold on for draw in Ranji Trophy Group A

On Wednesday at the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium, rain prevented Madhya Pradesh from converting a dominant position into a win as Jammu and Kashmir salvaged a draw in their Ranji Trophy 2026-27 Group-A match. Madhya Pradesh collected three points courtesy of their first-innings lead.

Madhya Pradesh had been firmly placed to take full points after Shubham Sharma’s unbeaten 106 (200b, 7x4, 3x6) and a pace attack spearheaded by Avesh Khan applied sustained pressure on the defending champions. Overnight rain delayed the start of the final day and further showers curtailed play, shrinking the time available for a result. Early in M.P.’s second innings Auqib Nabi struck to dismiss Atharva Mahajan, but Jammu and Kashmir were unable to capitalise on that early breakthrough as inconsistent bowling and lapses in the field allowed Shubham to settle.

Shubham added an unbroken 87-run stand with Saransh Jain, who made a brisk 35 (33b, 5x4), combining rotation and aggression; Shubham accelerated particularly against left-arm spinner Vanshaj Sharma, hitting two sixes and a four to reach his century. Madhya Pradesh declared at 249 for six (in 80 overs), setting Jammu and Kashmir a target of 326.

Jammu and Kashmir’s reply began disastrously as Avesh Khan (three for 30) removed Shubham Khajuria off the fifth ball of his opening over and Aryan Pandey (three for 31) bowled Shubham Pundir in the next; Avesh also dismissed Qamran Iqbal and Abdul Samad while Aryan had captain Paras Dogra caught behind as J&K collapsed to 12 for five.

The lower order resisted thereafter: Kanhaiya Wadhawan (27 not out, 51b, 3x4) and Nasir Lone attempted to steady the innings before a thumb injury forced Wadhawan to leave the field. When the weather brightened for the final half-hour, Madhya Pradesh pressed for a win but Auqib Nabi (30 not out, 32b, 4x4, 2x6) and Wadhawan, who returned to bat, dug in to deny the visitors.

The scores were: Madhya Pradesh — 1st innings: 196. Jammu & Kashmir — 1st innings: 120. Madhya Pradesh — 2nd innings: Harsh Gawli c Iqbal b Nabi 11, Yash Dubey c Wadhawan b Sunil 22, Himanshu Mantri c Pundir b Nabi 0, Shubham Sharma (not out) 106, Chanchal Rathore c Samad b Sunil 8, Aryan Pandey c Pundir b Rohit 17, Atharva Mahajan c Samad b Nabi 39, Saransh Jain (not out) 35; Extras (lb-4, nb-7): 11; Total (for six wkts. in 80 overs decl.) 249. Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-30, 3-40, 4-56, 5-87, 6-162. Jammu & Kashmir bowling: Nabi 22-4-53-3, Sunil 25-5-56-2, Rohit 17-4-51-1, Vanshaj 6-0-35-0, Nasir 10-0-50-0. Jammu & Kashmir — 2nd innings: Qamran Iqbal c Mantri b Avesh 4, Shubham Khajuria c Mantri b Avesh 0, Shubham Pundir b Aryan 4, Paras Dogra c Mantri b Aryan 4, Abdul Samad lbw b Avesh 0, Kanhaiya Wadhawan (not out) 27, Nasir Lone lbw b Aryan 13, Vanshaj Sharma b Ravi Kiran 6, Auqib Nabi (not out) 30; Total (for seven wkts. in 34 overs) 88. Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-6, 3-8, 4-12, 5-12, 6-51, 7-75. Madhya Pradesh bowling: Avesh 10-2-30-3, Aryan 10-4-31-3, Akshay 5-2-6-0, Ravi Kiran 4-2-5-1, Saransh 4-1-16-0, Shubham 1-1-0-0.

Madhya Pradesh will rue a probable win lost to rain after leaving Jammu and Kashmir reeling, while the draw left J&K with a resilient final-innings recovery and M.P. with three points for their first-innings advantage.