‘It’s the biggest thing right now in my life’: J&K skipper Paras Dogra after his side clinches Ranji Trophy title

HUBBALLI: As Jammu and Kashmir scripted history by clinching thier maiden Ranji Trophy title, skipper Paras Dogra was overcome with emotions after winning the match and was at a loss for words, calling it the biggest moment of his cricketing journey.

Playing their first-ever Ranji final, Jammu and Kashmir were crowned champions by virtue of their massive 291-run first-innings lead, a gap that proved insurmountable for the eight-time champions Karnataka, led by Devdutt Padikkal on Saturday.

Shubam Pundir was awarded the player of the match for his brilliant innings of 121 runs off 247 balls in the first innings. The batter laid the foundation and helped J-K clinch their first-ever Ranji Title.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁

BCCI President Mr. Mithun Manhas (@MithunManhas) & BCCI Hon. Secretary Mr. Devajit Saikia (@lonsaikia) present the coveted Ranji Trophy to captain Paras Dogra as Jammu & Kashmir claim their maiden title. #RanjiTrophy | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/vr0Ag2Quxr

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) February 28, 2026

“I just can’t explain, to be honest. I don’t have any words right now. At this time, it’s just the biggest thing right now in my life, and I have a lot of gratitude for it. To be honest, I have been lucky to be with JKCA, and the guys have been phenomenal”, he said after the match.

Dogra credited not just the playing XI, but the entire squad for the triumph. “They have been excellent, and it’s not about the 11, like 14, 15 guys, if you’ll see, they have been tremendous. They have been putting their hand up, and they have been performing really well. They are really keen to win the matches, and from the beginning, they have been 100% sure that we’re gonna win this”, he stated.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗺𝘂 & 𝗞𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗺𝗶𝗿 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁

How the support of ICC Chair Mr @JayShah, the vision and leadership of BCCI Hon. President Mr @MithunManhas, the efforts of Head Coach Ajay Sharma & Captain Paras Dogra, and the contribution of Brig. (Retd.)… pic.twitter.com/IyUcdabkwx

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) February 27, 2026

Player of the Match Shubham Pundir described the achievement as surreal and a fairytale for the region. “It still feels surreal. It feels like a fairytale. But I think for our region, for all the players, and for the management, this is a huge achievement. Everyone has worked so hard for so many years, so I think this is a great accomplishment”, he said.

Pundir revealed that the team’s approach in the final was focused on spending time on the crease rather than chasing a specific score. “The aim was to bat as long as possible. Our plan was ideally to aim for 500-600 runs. But more than the exact number of runs, the focus was on batting for as long as we could. We tried to build a long innings,” he added.

𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐉𝐀𝐌𝐌𝐔 & 𝐊𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐌𝐈𝐑!

An outpouring of pure, unadulterated emotion as J&K conquer the summit to claim their first-ever #RanjiTrophy crown

Scorecard https://t.co/G0ytZLEyNB@IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/XRyia1coda

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) February 28, 2026

Explaining his individual strategy, he added, “I think my plan was to see off the new ball as much as possible — play straight and safely early on, and then look to attack the spinners. That’s what the wicket demanded. There was some movement with the new ball, so the idea was to get through that phase. After that, there wasn’t much assistance for the spinners”, he concluded.

Coming to the match, in the first two days, J-K’s batters showed relentless discipline. Led by a masterful 121 from Shubham Pundir and contributions from Yawer Hassan (88 runs), captain Paras Dogra (70 runs), Abdul Samad (61 runs), Kanhaiya Wadhawan (70 runs) and Sahil Lotra (72 runs), J&K amassed a massive first-innings total of 584 runs.

𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐉𝐀𝐌𝐌𝐔 & 𝐊𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐌𝐈𝐑!

An outpouring of pure, unadulterated emotion as J&K conquer the summit to claim their first-ever #RanjiTrophy crown

Scorecard https://t.co/G0ytZLEyNB@IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/XRyia1coda

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) February 28, 2026

Despite J-K’s dominance, pacer Prasidh Krishna claimed figures of 5/98 in 34.1 overs, standing out as the lone bowler who impressed for Karnataka.

Karnataka, despite boasting a lineup of international stars including KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Devdutt Padikkal, and Karun Nair, crumbled under the pressure of the scoreboard. Only Mayank Agarwal offered significant resistance with a valiant 160, but his effort was lonely. Karnataka were bowled out for 293, conceding a massive 291-run lead to Jammu and Kashmir.

The star of the show with the ball was J-K’s Auqib Nabi, whose clinical 5/54 in 23 overs decimated the Karnataka middle order and effectively sealed the fate of the match by Day 4.

Batting again, J-K were powered by an unbeaten 160 by Qamran Iqbal and 101 not out by Sahil Lotra, as Paras Dogra declared the innings on 342/4 on Day 5, with J-K leading by 633 runs, as the entire squad stormed into the field in celebration. (ANI)