Jammu and Kashmir were 12 for 5 chasing 326, and rain saved the Ranji champions against Madhya Pradesh
Shubham Sharma made 79 and an unbeaten 106 in Srinagar, and MP took three points from the defending champions’ first game.
Oct 14, 2026
Jammu and Kashmir began their Ranji Trophy title defence at home in Srinagar on Sunday. By the final day they were 12 for 5, chasing 326 against Madhya Pradesh, and the weather did more to save them than anyone in their dressing room.
Rain and bad light ended play at the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium on Wednesday with J&K on 88 for 7. The match was drawn, and Madhya Pradesh took three points for their first-innings lead to J&K’s one.
Shubham Sharma’s match
J&K won the toss, chose to bowl, and had MP 41 for 3. Then the Madhya Pradesh captain dug in. Shubham Sharma made 79 off 174 balls, and MP got to 196. Rohit Sharma took 5 for 36 for J&K and Sunil Kumar picked up four more, yet 196 turned out to be plenty. J&K were bowled out for 120, with Aryan Pandey and Avesh Khan taking three wickets each, and MP led by 76.
Rain cut into the third day with MP on 151 for 5 in their second innings. They had been 87 for 5 before Sharma and Atharva Mahajan put on 75 together, and on Wednesday the captain went on to 106 not out off 200 balls. The declaration came at 249 for 6, a lead of 325.
Twelve for five
The target was never really the point. MP needed ten wickets in what was left of the day, and they very nearly got them. J&K were 12 for 5 before the innings had settled.
Auqib Nabi, more often the man doing the damage with the ball, made 30 off 32 balls. Kanhaiya Wadhawan, who had made 35 in the first innings, added 27 more off 51. Both were unbeaten when the weather closed in. Avesh finished with 3 for 30 and Pandey 3 for 31, ten overs each.
J&K won their first Ranji title in February. One point from one game is not a disaster in a long group stage, but a side that finished three wickets from an opening-round defeat at home will know it got away with one.