Hubballi: Jammu and Kashmir's team poses for a group photograph on day five of the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 final cricket match between Karnataka and Jammu and Kashmir, at KSCA Cricket Stadium, in Hubballi, Dharwad district, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (PTI Photo/Shailendra Bhojak)(PTI02_28_2026_000127A)
As skipper Paras Dogra declared the second innings of Jammu and Kashmir in the Ranji Trophy final against Karnataka, the whole squad rushed on to the ground for celebration.
Players were dancing to the beat of dhols with their Chief Minister Omar Abdullah watching from stands and coach Ajay Sharma sporting a big smile.
It was a historic moment for the underdogs in the final as they defeated the eight-time champions courtesy the big lead of 291 runs in the first innings.
Playing in their maiden final, Jammu and Kashmir scored a mammoth total of 584 in the first innings with a century from Shubham Pundir and then Aquib Nabi Dar ran through Karnataka’s batting line-up to take yet another fifer.
While Mayank Aggarwal offered some resistance, Karnataka was folded for 293 and J&K batted out the second innings to clinch a historic win.
| Season | Winning team and finalists |
| 1934-35 | Bombay against Northern India |
| 1936-37 | Nawanagar against Bengal |
| 1937-38 | Hyderabad against Nawanagar |
| 1939-40 | Maharashtra against United Provinces |
| 1942-43 | Baroda against Hyderabad |
| 1943-44 | Western India against Bengal |
| 1973-74 | Karnataka against UP |
| 1992-93 | Punjab against Maharashtra |
| 2017-18 | Vidharbha against Delhi |
| 2025-26 | J&K against Karnataka |
With this win, Jammu and Kashmir became the only tenth in the 92 year old history of Ranji Trophy to win the title during maiden apperance in the final. Jammu and Kashmir took 67 years from their first appearance in 1959-60 season to clinch the coveted title.
In the inaugural 1934-35 season, it was Bombay, led by Laxmidas Purshottamdas Jai, won the title defeating Northern India.
Interestingly, current runner-ups Karnataka won the 1973-74 season becoming the first-ever team post independence to win the title in their maiden final apperance.
The most recent occurence of team winning title in maiden final apperance was seven years back when Vidharbha defeated Delhi. They followed it up with two more titles with the most being the last season.
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