All eyes were on Parvez Rasool, Jammu and Kashmir’s captain and most enigmatic player, when he came out to bat on another cold and overcast day at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi. Walking in at the fall of the third wicket, with the score at 43, he was expected to shepherd his side and deny the Railways an outright lead. Sadly, for J&K that is, none of that happened.

Rasool was dismissed for just 17, and his teammates did not have the experience or the gumption to witstand the discipline shown by the Railways pace trio of Anureet Singh, K.K. Upadhyay and Ranjeet Mali. They needed just 43 overs to dismiss the visitors on the final day, and in the process garner a crucial 120-run lead and collect three points.

Lion-hearted performance

Man of the match Anureet started the slide, removing J&K opener Imran Haroon with the second ball of the innings. Along with KK, the duo did not err in line or length, and constantly built the pressure. Runs came in a trickle, and there were plenty of plays and misses.

If Anureet got movement in the air, KK used his height to good effect and hit the deck hard, bowling a nagging short-of-a driving length, which stifled the visitors. Anureet bowled 13 overs at a stretch in the afternoon session, getting the solitary wicket of Haroon.

KK was removed after his seven-over spell. But there was little respite for the visitors as Ranjeet Mali too found the conditions to his liking.

He got the ball to swing and kept the pressure up from one end. He was amply rewarded for his efforts, removing captain Rasool and Shubham Pundir in quick succession. Post tea, Anureet mopped up the lower-order, taking three quick wickets and ending J&K’s agony.

“My plan was to bowl in the channel on and around off-stump and build pressure. The conditions were good for bowling and we managed to exploit them well… the fact that KK and Ranjit also bowled helped our cause. Over all, it was a satisfying day for us,” Anureet said after his five-wicket haul.

For Sunil Joshi-coached visiting side, batting will be an area of concern as they progress in the tournament. Barring Aditya Pratap Singh and Ram Dayal, none of the batsmen got starts and neither was there an attempt to grind and build a partnership. At the earliest sign of pressure built by the hosts, J&K crumbled.

“Batting inconsistency is an area we need to work on. However, we are a young side and with more exposure, we can improve,” Joshi said. “The transition from Group C to Group A has not been easy, but we have potential and with time we will improve,” he added.

Brief scores: Railways 23 & 18/0 (N Bhille 7 n.o.) drew with J&K 114 all out (AP Singh 32, R Dayal 23; Anureet 5/48, KK Upadhyay 2/24).