Hubbali, February 25 Skipper Paras Dogra scored a gutsy 70, but his intentional head-butt on 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 wicketkeeper batter Kanhaiya Wadhawan (70) and Sahil Lotra (57), all made significant contributions, making it a tough day for the Karnataka bowlers. Prasidh Krishna (3/90 in 29 overs) was the only bowler to have a significant impact.
However, it was 21-year-old Ranji veteran Dogra's unsportsmanlike behaviour that surprised everyone. He was captured on camera head-butting Aneesh after getting a boundary when Prasidh had squared him up.
It was unclear whether Aneesh's words had hurt the domestic legend, who confronted Aneesh and head-butted Aneesh's helmet, prompting his senior teammate Mayank Agarwal to intervene and stand between the two.
An animated Agarwal was seen exchanging words with Dogra, and on-field umpires Rohan Pandit and Ulhas Gandhe rightly intervened. At some point, Karnataka skipper Devdutt Padikkal was also seen talking to the umpires, complaining about Dogra.
Since the incident involved physical contact, Dogra should face sanctions from BCCI match referee Narayan Kutty.
The day started well for Karnataka as overnight centurion Shubham Pundir (121 off 247 balls) was quickly dismissed.
A flick from left-handed 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 smashed his way to a half-century on the opening day, got one off 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 bowling with the new ball and was bowling quickly, was hit for some streaky boundaries behind square by Dogra and Wadhawan, who found the 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 any problems in maintaining 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 ball, 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.
