Jammu & Kashmir v Services (Ranji North Zone)

Shiv Chander Sharma, CricInfo
22-25 October 1998

Scores: 231 for 8. Top scorer: Kanwaljit Singh, 122*; Best bowlers: M.V. Rao 5/59, Sanjay Sirsat 3/6

JAMMU TAWI, 22 Oct, The hosts J&K scored 231 for 8 against Services in the first innings of their four day Ranji league match, played at Moulana Azad Stadium Stadium, here today.

J&K skipper, Sanjay Sharma, won the toss and opted to bat. Though the opening pair, and the middle-order did not contribute much, one-down bat Kanwaljith Singh, scored 122, off 262 balls, in 342 minutes, and helped his team score 231.

Fast bowler MV Rao and Sanjay Sirsat bowled well and took five and three wickets respectively. Kanwaljith will take first strike tomorrow.

Moulana Azad Stadium, where the match is being played, was built in 1961, It has an official seating capacity of 60,000 (unofficial, over 80,000). It is situated amidst lush green environs, on the right bank of river city of temples. It is a multipurpose stadium, capable of hosting National and International tournaments. It has three turf pitches for cricket. The outer circumference of the stadium is 1km, inner circumference 700 metres. Jammu, is the winter capital of the state.

Bowler Arun Sharma and wicket-keeper Sarbajit Singh of Services both belong to Jammu. Chinmoy Sharma, the Services skipper, is an exerienced off-spinner, while MV Rao is a fast bowler.

Day 2 Report

J & K resumed play from yesterday's score of 231 for 8 and were all out for 254. They batted for 30 minutes today. Top scorer Kanwaljit Singh was out at 133. MV Rao and JP Pandey split the two wickets to fall today.

Services started their innings on a weak note and lost their first wicket in the very first over. They were 2 for 26. However Sanjay Verma, their one-down batsman, came to their rescue. Later skipper Chinmoy Sharma played a fine knock of 88. Services were 202 for 6 at close of play. Today's highlights, besides the fourth-wicket partnership between Sanjay Verma and Chinmoy, were Chinmoy's 88 and the 3 wickets taken by Abdul Qayoom, the J & K medium pacer.

Sanjay Verma and Chinmoy put together 96 runs for the fourth wicket, and the fifth wicket partnership between Chinmoy and CD Thomson yielded 60 runs.

Day 3 Report

Services, resuming from their overnight score of 202 for 6, were all out for 259. They batted for an hour and 29 minutes today, and took a slender five run lead over J & K. In J & K's second innings, opener Tanveer Lone was out in the fourth over. Kanwaljit who scored 133 in first innings, could not do much in the second innings.

In the dying moments of the day, Pradeep Bali scored 10 runs in the 71st over. He hit the first six of the match, and slammed the next ball for four to long on. J & K were 181 for 7 when stumps were drawn. Tommorow is the last day of the match. As the wicket is taking turn, there is hope that the match will produce a result.

Day 4 Report

Services defeated their hosts J & K by 7 wickets in their four-day Ranji match, Poor fielding by the host team resulted in their defeat.

J & K won the toss and scored 254 in their first innings. In reply, Services took a 5 run lead. In their second innings, J & K were all out for 215. Services thus required 211 for a win, which they completed 66.1 overs, well before the scheduled close today.

With the Services' score at 210, Chinmoy hit a four to seal the victory. Earlier, Abdul Qayoom, the J & K bowler, had to retire hurt due to a muscle pull. The J & K fielding left a lot to be desired, with atleast three catches going down.