Asif Iqbal
Srinagar, Jan 12 (GNS): In its second match for Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Jammu and Kashmir team will be playing against Tripura after going down against hosts Karnataka in the first outing played on Sunday last.
In its first match Jammu and Kashmir, placed in Elite Group A, suffered a defeat by 43 runs at the hands of a spirited unit, Karnataka, at KSCA Cricket Ground Alur.
Batting first, the hosts Karnataka had set a target of 151 runs for Jammu and Kashmir. However in reply, the latter could score only 107 runs, handing hosts four important points to help them move to top of the table.
The seemingly only silver-lining for Jammu and Kashmir in the match was however, recent IPL sensation and member of Sunrisers Hyderabad, Abdul Samad who scored 30 runs of 27 deliveries despite being the lone batsman to hit a six from his team. Samad though hit two sixes and a boundary on way to his well-compiled thirty run score.
After losing the first outing, J&K may fancy their chances’ of a redemption against a meek Tripura, to somehow consolidate their position in the tournament. J&K currently is at the bottom of the table with a Net Run Rate (NRR) of -2.15.
If statistics are to be kept in sight, the Jammu and Kashmir may go with an unchanged Playing XI, featuring; Abid Mushtaq, Shubham Khajuria, Shubham Pundir, Qamran Iqbal, Parvez Rasool (C), Suryansh Raina(WK), Ahmed Banday, Ram Dayal, Umar Nazir Mir, Aquib Nabi and Abdul Samad.
The match is set to start this afternoon (at 12:00 IST) at KSCA Cricket Ground Alur.
Pertinent to mention here that the ongoing tournament (Trophy) is named after Syed Mushtaq Ali, a right-handed opening batsman for (the then un-partitioned) India who holds the distinction of scoring the first overseas Test century by an Indian player, when he scored 112 against England at Old Trafford in the year 1936. (GNS)
