Hubli: Today something happened in the history of Ranji Trophy, which had never happened in the last 92 years. No one would have imagined even in their dreams that Jammu and Kashmir would reach the finals. In front is the eight-time champion Karnataka team. This battle of Ranji Trophy 2025-26 final is not between Karnataka and Jammu and Kashmir but between the underdog and the champion team. Let us introduce you to the moment-to-moment updates of this five-day long final.
Jammu and Kashmir won the toss and chose batting
In this match being played in Hubli, Jammu and Kashmir captain Paras Dogra has won the toss and decided to bat first. There is no change in the Karnataka team, the playing eleven is the same which played in the semi-finals. In the Jammu and Kashmir team, Sahil Lotra and Kamran Iqbal have been included in the playing eleven in place of Shubhman Khajuria and Vanshraj Sharma.
Why is Karnataka’s claim strong?
Karnataka is not only being considered a strong contender because of its past performance, but this season, despite struggling with injuries to important players from time to time, it has performed well in different conditions. After a poor start in the first match against Saurashtra in Rajkot, Karnataka has performed well on and off the field, its star batsmen KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Devdutt Padikkal and Ravichandran Smaran have written the story of this success.
Karnataka’s strong batting
KL Rahul has scored 457 runs in three matches, Karun Nair has scored 699 runs in eight matches, Devdutt Padikkal has scored 532 runs in five matches and Smaran has scored 950 runs in eight matches, this also helped Karnataka adjust to the change in captaincy. Padikkal took command of the team in place of Mayank Agarwal and proved his mettle in both batting and captaincy.
Aaqib Nabi star of Jammu and Kashmir
However, this strong batting order will face the best bowlers of Jammu and Kashmir under the leadership of fast bowler Aaqib Nabi. Jammu and Kashmir has entered the final for the first time since its debut in Ranji Trophy 67 years ago. Nabi has taken 55 wickets in this season and here too the pitch is expected to help the fast bowlers in the beginning.
Karnataka team adorned with stars
Apart from the skill of its players, Karnataka also looks like a strong contender on the basis of their experience in big matches. Rahul, Karun, Shreyas and Mayank were part of the team that won two consecutive titles in 2013-14 and 2014-15. They can give advice to young players to face pressure.
Captain is the biggest strength of Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir team, which has defeated giants like Bengal and Madhya Pradesh, has an experienced captain like Paras Dogra. Chief coach Ajay Sharma and 41 year old Dogra will have to give Gurumantra to the players to play freely without any pressure.
Karnataka squad: Devdutt Padikkal (captain), Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, KV Aneesh, R Smaran, Shreyas Gopal, Krithik Krishna, Vishakh Vijaykumar, Vidyadhar Patil, Vidwat Kaverappa, Prasidh Krishna, Mohsin Khan, Shikhar Shetty, KL Srijit.
Jammu Kashmir squad: Paras Dogra (captain), Abdul Samad, Shubham Khajuria, Kamran Iqbal, Abid Mushtaq, Vivant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Umran Malik, Yudhvir Singh, Aaqib Nabi, Sunil Kumar, Lone Nasir, Mujtaba Yusuf, Musaif Ijaz, Sahil Lotra, Vanshaj Sharma, Umar Nazir Mir, Kanhaiya Wadhawan, Yaver Hasan.