Indore, February 9 Auqib Nabi shone brightly with a career-best 12-wicket haul, as Jammu & Kashmir, fueled by the pacer's desire for wickets, defeated former champions Madhya Pradesh by 56 runs to advance to the Ranji Trophy semifinals here on Monday.
Chasing 291 on the penultimate day – a total they had created through careless batting – the 2021-22 champions, Madhya Pradesh, were bowled out for 234, paving the way for Jammu & Kashmir to reach the last four round, where they will face the winner of the quarterfinal match between Andhra and Bengal.
The other semifinal will be between Uttarakhand and Karnataka.
It was 29-year-old Auqib who once again emerged as the key player, adding 5/70 to his impressive first-innings performance of 7/40, finishing with a dozen wickets for just 110 runs.
Madhya Pradesh, who were struggling at 84 for 5 at the close of Saturday's play, with Auqib having taken 3/23, saw the pacer return to complete the job, first dismissing Ramveer Gurjar (11) and then breaking the resistance of Saransh Jain, who had remained unbeaten on 64 off 81 balls, to keep Madhya Pradesh's innings alive.
Aryan Pandey's 22 was the final wicket to fall, but Madhya Pradesh's collapse had already begun earlier in the day, with India player Venkatesh Iyer being the first to go for 104, just 20 runs added to their overnight total of 84 for 5.
Realizing their advantage, Jammu & Kashmir continued their strong performance, but veteran Madhya Pradesh all-rounder Saransh Jain kept the fight alive, forming valuable partnerships with Shubham Sharma (32) and Ramveer Gurjar (11) before finally falling to Auqib, having hit seven boundaries and a six.
Left-arm spinner Abid Mushtaq also played a crucial role, taking three wickets for 49 runs.
Brief scores:
Jammu & Kashmir: 194 and 248 all out in 70.3 overs. Madhya Pradesh: 152 and 234 all out in 68.3 overs (Shubham Sharma 32, Saransh Jain 64; Auqib Nabi 5/70, Abid Mushtaq 3/49).