Hubballi, February 26 India's latest pace sensation, Aqib Nabi, bowled a sensational opening spell that rocked Karnataka's star-studded top order as Jammu and Kashmir took a firm grip on the Ranji Trophy final, despite Mayank Agarwal's defiant hundred here on Thursday.
At the close of play on the third day, eight-time champions Karnataka were at 220 for five, trailing the visitors by 364 runs with Agarwal unbeaten on 130, alongside wicketkeeper Kruthik Krishna (27).
Nabi ended the day with impressive figures of 3/32 in 14 overs.
This came after Jammu and Kashmir, riding on Shubham Pundir's 121 in a collective batting effort, posted a mammoth first-innings total of 584 in their maiden Ranji final. Nabi then took centre stage.
Once Jammu and Kashmir posted a huge first-innings total, they were in a commanding position, and Nabi then left the Karnataka batters searching for answers.
The 28-year-old Nabi, who dominated the season with over 55 wickets in nine games, including a 12-wicket match haul (7/40 & 5/70) against Madhya Pradesh in the quarter-final, was able to make the ball move away and come back into the hand, while also occasionally delivering yorkers at a good pace.
Nabi dismissed KL Rahul with a brilliant delivery, giving India a crucial breakthrough.
Nabi completely deceived Rahul with late movement as the ball grazed the edge of the bat on its way to wicketkeeper Kanhaiya Wadhawan, prompting captain Paras Dogra to opt for a review after on-field umpire Rohan Pandit decided against raising his finger.
TV replays confirmed the edge, and Dogra was vindicated in going upstairs at the insistence of his keeper and bowler, resulting in a major moment in the game just three minutes before lunch.
Pumped up, Nabi then dismissed two more batsmen in quick succession in the second session, putting his team in a dominant position. But before Nabi's double blow, left-arm seamer Sunil Kumar got the better of Karnataka captain Devdutt Padikkal.
Padikkal struggled to get under Kumar's back-of-a-length delivery, which moved slightly, inducing an edge for Abdul Samad to complete a fine catch in the slip cordon.
Despite losing two key wickets, Agarwal remained steadfast, playing his innings in a professional manner and finding the boundaries with some classic strokes.
Even as Agarwal stood firm, the home team lost two more wickets to Nabi. He first dismissed Karun Nair with another unplayable delivery that hit the off-stump after moving away on pitching, leaving the in-form batter clueless.
Ravichandran Smaran then walked in, who averages 75 in First-Class cricket, but Nabi dismissed him for a duck with a back-of-a-length ball that straightened after pitching.
Smaran was unsure whether to play or leave it, but the ball took the outside edge and went through to the keeper, leaving Karnataka at 57 for four in 18 overs.
Shreyas Gopal survived the hat-trick ball that hit him on the pad after swinging in sharply.
Gopal and Agarwal then forged a partnership of 105 runs for the fifth wicket, though J&K still had a lead heading into the fourth and penultimate day's play.
Agarwal, who got a life on 124, then found an able ally in Krishna and added 58 runs for an unbroken sixth wicket.
Earlier, Pundir's hundred and half-centuries from Yawer Hassan (88), captain Dogra (70), Abdul Samad (61), Wadhawan (70) and Sahil Lotra (72) powered Jammu and Kashmir to a mammoth first-innings total.
Prasidh Krishna was the most successful bowler for Karnataka, returning figures of 5/98 in 34.1 overs after toiling for more than two full days.
J&K resumed the third day's play at 527/6 with Lotra and Abid Mushtaq at the crease.
