Bangalore, Nov 03: Superb batting display by Musaif Ajaz and Archit Mahajan and brilliant bowling show by almost all the bowlers led by seamer Archit Mahajan guided clinical Jammu and Kashmir to an emphatic 28-run victory over Baroda in a tough contest at Kini Sports Arena Ground here on Friday.
Batting first, J&K scored a modest total of 196 runs in the stipulated 50 overs, losing 7 wickets in the process.
Musaif Ajaz showed stellar grit and tenacity to notch up a brilliant half-century, scoring 65 runs off 90 balls, studded with 3 fours and 3 sixes, while Archit Mahajan contributed unbeaten 45 runs off 42 balls with 6 fours and one six. Skipper Shivansh Sharma (30), Yawwer Hassan (19) and in form Junaid Qazi (13) also contributed to the team’s total. Musaif and Archit, in particular, were in sublime touch and their knocks were the amalgam of solidity, sublimity, explosiveness and elegance.
For Baroda, Lakshit took 2 wickets, while Malhar Grehvaria, Harsh Desai, MR Solanki and Jadav Rajvirsinh claimed one wicket each.
In reply, J&K bowlers bowled with the disciplined line and length, hitting the right areas, restricting the opposition to a meagre total of 168 runs, thus helping J&K to win by 28 runs.
Dangerous looking Jadav Rajvirsinh played a magnificent innings of 51 runs off 70 balls, studded with 6 delectable boundaries, while Harsh Desai, Dhruv Patel and Jaipal Chad contributed 33, 25 and 18 runs to the total respectively.
Losing their 8th wicket at 118 runs, the duo of Rajvirsinh and Jaypal made a partnership of 46 runs and took the score to 164 runs before the latter’s dismissal.
For J&K, right-arm medium pacer, Archit Mahajan was the pick of the bowlers, who took 3 important wickets by conceding 22 runs in 8.5 overs, while left-arm spinner Vishal Kumar and left-arm Speedster Basit Bashir bagged 2 wickets each. Right-arm fast bowler Manit Jasrotia and part-time off-spinner Kawal Preet Singh also claimed one wicket each.
The Jammu and Kashmir team is being accompanied by Sarabjeet Singh as Head Coach, Kavaljeet Singh as Batting Coach, Sameer Ali as Bowling Coach, Rakesh Koul as Manager, Ajay Batti as Co-Manager, Guru Pratap Singh as Strength & Conditioning Coach, Dr Haseeb ur Rehman as Physio and Arun Kumar as Masseur.
Meanwhile, Sub Committee Members of JKCA including Brig Anil Gupta, Member-Administration; Mithun Manhas, Member Cricket Operations and Development and Sunil Sethi, Member Legal Affairs congratulated the team for this brilliant victory.
