Jammu & Kashmir pacer Auqib Nabi bowled a brute of a delivery to get the decisive wicket of KL Rahul in the 2026 Ranji Trophy final against Karnataka at the KSCA Hubli Cricket Ground in Hubli. The right-arm pacer sent down an unplayable delivery to send Rahul packing for 13, giving their side the first breakthrough.
Jammu & Kashmir make perfect use of DRS
The dismissal occurred in the 12th over of the innings as J&K captain Paras Dogra opted to bring Nabi for his second. With the ball from Nabi squaring Rahul up, it had taken the outside edge to the keeper but on-field umpire Rohan Pandit said not out. But J&K were convinced and replays showed that their decision to take the DRS was vindicated. There was a big spike and Rahul had to walk back.
Watch the video of the dismissal:
Big wicket of KL Rahul 🔥
🎥 Watch Auqib Nabi’s delivery that gave J&K the massive breakthrough and a crucial early wicket in the #RanjiTrophy Final!
Updates ▶️ https://t.co/G0ytZLEyNB@IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/y92jjuPebT
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) February 26, 2026
Shubham Pundir’s 121 headlines Jammu & Kashmir’s strong total of 594
Meanwhile, J&K put on a strong batting performance after electing to bat first in the final. Shubham Pundir, who came in to bat in the 11th over after coming into bat following Qamran Iqbal’s dismissal for 6, scored a composed 121. The likes of Yawer Hasan (88), Dogra (70), Abdul Samad (61), Kanhaiya Wadhawan (70) and Sahil Lotra (72) had followed up with half-centuries.
In all, J&K batted for 173.1 overs to amass a strong total, putting Karnataka’s star-studded batting unit under pressure. At the time of writing this, Karnataka had also lost their skipper Devdutt Padikkal for 11 to leave them with a mountain to climb.
