J&K qualify for Ranji Trophy quarters for first time since 2000

In a fantastic achievement, the Jammu and Kashmir cricket team today qualified for Ranji Trophy quarterfinals for the first time since 2000, following a draw against Tripura in their final Group C league match today. The J&K team had taken the first innings lead and the draw was a expected result. With three points from the tie, J&K ended tied on 28 points with Goa but qualified on the basis of their marginally better points quotient. J&K had a quotient of 1.006 as against Goa’s 1.005 after the valley team ended the fourth and final day at 87 for two in a chase of 228. [caption id=“attachment_1319843” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  J&K will play against Punjab at Baroda from 8 January. PTI[/caption] J&K will play against Punjab at Baroda from 8 January. The hosts began the day at a solid 103 for two but were all out for 272 as spinner Perveez Rasool claimed seven wickets at the expense of 87 runs. Tripura’s overnight batsmen Abhijit Dey (63), Kaushal Acharjee (35) began cautiously and had extended their partnership to 78 runs but Rasool dismissed both in a gap of four overs. After that skipper Yogesh Takawale (28) and Manisankar Murasingh (37) resisted the J&K attack for some time but eventually they were bundled out for 272 runs on the board. The visitors then lost Adil Rishi (1) and Ian Dev Singh (9) cheaply but Bandeep Singh (37) and Perveez Rasool (35) batted well after that and easily drew the game. Brief Scores: Tripura 280 and 272 in 103.5 overs.(Abhijit Dey 63, Kaushik Acharjee 35; Perveez Rasool 7/87). Jammu and Kashmir: 325 and 87 for 2 in 25 overs.(Perveez Rasool 37 not out, Bandeep Singh 37; Manisankar Murasingh 1/12). PTI