J&K in control as sparks fly post Dogra head-butt

Skipper Paras Dogra made a gutsy 70 but his intentional head-butting of Karnataka substitute KV Aneesh overshadowed an otherwise solid batting performance from Jammu and Kashmir, who reached 527 for 6 at stumps on the second day of the Ranji Trophy final. Dogra along with keeper batter Kanhaiya Wadhawan (70), Sahil Lotra (57 batting) all made handsome contributions as it became a real toil for the Karnataka bowlers save Prasidh Krishna (3/90 in 29 overs) didn’t make much of an impact.

However it was 21-season Ranji vetreran Dogra’s boorish behaviour that surprised one and all as he was captured on camera head-butting the silly point fielder Aneesh after getting a streaky boundary when Prasidh had literally squared him up. It wasn’t clear if any of Aneesh’s words would have hurt the domestic legend, who confronted Aneesh and butted on Aneesh’s helmet prompting his senior teammate Mayank Agarwal to interject and stand between the two.

An animated Agarwal was seen exchanging words with Dogra as on-field umpires Rohan Pandit and Ulhas Gandhe rightly intervened. After some point, even Karnataka skipper Devdutt Padikkal was seen talking to the umpires, complaining about Dogra. Since it was an altercation that involved touching of opponents, Dogra should face some sanctions from BCCI match referee Narayan Kutty. The day started off well for Karnataka as overnight centurion Shubham Pundir (121 off 247 balls) was quickly dismissed.

A flick from southpaw Pundir off medium pacer Vidyadhar Patil (1/104) went straight into substitute Aneesh’s hands, ending a fine 124 run-stand. Pundir’s innings had 12 fours and two sixes. Abdul Samad (61), who also had smashed his way to a half-century on opening day, got one from Prasidh that just moved enough from length to take the outside edge. At 307 for 4, just when Karnataka smelt an opening, veteran Dogra and J&K’s find of the season Wadhawan got together to add 110 runs in 32 overs.

Prasidh, who was spitting fire with semi-new ball and was bowling quick was hit for some streaky boundaries behind square by Dogra and Wadhawan who found extra pace too hot to handle.  However they showed a lot of temperament in not giving away the wicket to the Indian Test pacer. They didn’t score runs at a breakneck pace but once leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal (1/130 in 33 overs) and left-arm spinner Shikhar Shetty (1/112 in 32 overs) were in operation, the duo didn’t have problems farming the strike.

While Dogra’s 166 ball knock had eight fours, Wadhawan’s 109-ball knock comprised of nine hits to the fence. Once Wadhawan was caught by KL Rahul in the slips off Shetty, Dogra added another 54 with Lotra who also helped himself to a half-ton. With four overs left for the third new bal, Karnataka bowlers would like to keep the total below 600 and expect its batting line-up filled with former and current Test stars to do the job for them in a game of an innings each.

Brief Scores

Jammu and Kashmir 527/6 in 156 overs (Shubham Pundir 121, Yawer Hassan 88, Paras Dogra 70, Kanhaiya Wadhawan 70, Sahil Lotra 54 batting, Prasidh Krishna 3/90) vs Karnataka. Jammu and Kashmir's captain Paras Dogra plays a shot during the second day of the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 final cricket match between Karnataka and Jammu and Kashmir at KSCA Stadium in Hubballi, Karnataka.

Dogra set to be fined 50% of his match fees

Hubballi: Jammu and Kashmir skipper Paras Dogra is all set to be fined 50 per cent of his match fees for intentionally head-butting Karnataka’s substitute fielder KV Aneesh during an ill-tempered second day of the Ranji Trophy final here on Wednesday. While the official announcement from BCCI match referee Narayanan Kutty will only come after the end of the game, physical handling of opposition player obviously leads to sanctions and match bans. In this case, the doyen of domestic cricket is set to escape with a mild punishment.

Dogra, who had retired hurt on 9 on the opening day, came back on the second day at the fall of J&K’s third wicket Abdul Samad. Prasidh Krishna, who was in the midst of a fiery spell, welcomed the 41-year-old J&K skipper with a barrage of short balls and some chirping from the close-in fielders, including Aneesh who was stationed at silly-point. In the 101st over of the innings, Dogra awkwardly fended at a fast rising delivery from Prasidh as he was literally squared up. The ball flew through vacant third slip region for a boundary.

However, it was seen that Dogra, after drawing on-field umpires Rohan Pandit and Ulhas Gandhe’s attention, rushed towards Aneesh and gently head-butted Aneesh, who incidentally was also wearing a helmet while fielding close-in. An animated Mayank Agarwal ran from his position and got into the middle, getting into an argument after which an unhappy Karnataka skipper Devdutt Padikkal was also seen talking to the umpires. While the content of Aneesh’s alleged sledging wasn’t known, Dogra sought to downplay the incident by stating that it was something that happened at the “heat of the moment”.