Srinagar, Dec 29: Jammu and Kashmir’s winning momentum in the Vijay Hazare Trophy was brought to a halt as they went down by five wickets to Vidarbha in their third List-A match in Rajkot on Monday.
After registering two back-to-back victories, J&K put up a competitive total of 311 for 9 in their allotted 50 overs, riding on yet another solid showing by Qamran Iqbal and Yawer Hassan, but Vidarbha chased down the target comfortably with more than an over to spare.
Openers Qamran Iqbal and Shubham Khajuria gave J&K a steady start before Khajuria departed early. Qamran anchored the innings with a composed 54 off 68 balls, while Yawer Hassan once again underlined his growing consistency with a well-crafted 79 off 94 deliveries, stitching crucial partnerships in the middle order.
However, J&K’s experienced campaigner Paras Dogra continued his poor run with the bat, failing yet again as he was dismissed without troubling the scorers. Nasir Lone, who was promoted up the order in a tactical move, showed promise but failed to convert his start, departing for 19, leaving J&K searching for momentum during the middle overs.
The innings regained some impetus towards the end after late-order fireworks from the pacers. Auqib Nabi smashed a brisk 40 off 26 balls, while Yudhvir Singh remained unbeaten on 42 off 24, their counter-attacking stand pushing J&K past the 300-run mark and giving the total a competitive look.
In reply, Vidarbha rode on a massive 218-run partnership between Akshay Mokhade (139) and Samarth R (114), which effectively took the game away from J&K. Despite breakthroughs from Auqib Nabi and Yudhvir Singh, the damage had already been done as Vidarbha reached 315 for 5 in 48.3 overs.
While the defeat ended J&K’s winning streak, the continued good form of Qamran Iqbal and Yawer Hassan remains a positive, with both batsmen making a strong case for selection in the upcoming matches of the tournament.