Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 20: In an exhilarating encounter in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group-A match at Cuttack, Jammu and Kashmir’s talented middle-order batsman, Abdul Samad, put on a masterclass performance. After rescuing the team with a power-packed century in the first innings, he followed it up with an unbeaten 70 runs, helping J&K reach a commendable score of 195 for 4 at stumps on day three, making the contest evenly poised.
Having conceded a narrow two-run lead in the first innings, J&K now holds a 193-run advantage with one day left in the match. Anything above 250 runs on this track will be a challenging target for Odisha.
Samad’s impressive record includes scoring all five of his Ranji Trophy centuries in under 100 balls, with his latest century coming off just 78 balls. His remarkable tally now stands at 14 sixes in the match so far, with 77 sixes in just 25 first-class matches, placing him seventh on the all-time Ranji Trophy sixes list.
Odisha, resuming from an overnight score of 230/5, managed to post 272 runs in their first innings, led by skipper Govinda Poddar’s unbeaten 133 runs. Abid Mushtaq was the standout bowler for J&K, claiming four wickets for 84 runs.
As the match heads into its final day, Samad remains a key player to watch, with Sahil Lotra supporting him at the crease with 21 runs. J&K’s earlier first-innings total of 270 runs came from a crucial partnership of 131 runs between Samad and Lotra after the team was struggling at 58 for 4.
The match is finely balanced, and as J&K looks to build a competitive lead, fans are eager to see if Samad can continue his outstanding form and guide his team to victory.
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