Irani Cup 2026: Paras Dogra, Lone Nasir bail J&K out of trouble to get first innings lead over Rest of India

Paras Dogra scored 75 and stitched crucial partnerships with lower order to get J&K total a first innings lead over Rest of India in the Irani Cup match. | Photo Credit: IMRAN NISSAR

By the middle of the afternoon session on day two of the Irani Cup fixture at the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium, the faces in the Jammu & Kashmir dugout appeared to have turned glum. The spectators, barring a few quips towards Rest of India skipper Rishabh Pant, had also fallen silent.

It reflected J&K’s plight, having been reduced to 166 for eight. It was still 71 runs adrift of RoI’s first-innings total of 237 with just two wickets in hand.

Barely an hour later, however, the mood swayed. The smiles in the J&K camp returned. So did the cheers of the sparse crowd. It was all thanks to a rearguard 64-run partnership between Paras Dogra (75, 143b, 6x4, 1x6) and Lone Nasir (64, 58b, 8x4, 3x6) for the ninth wicket, enabling J&K, which was 21 for two overnight, to finish its first innings on 278 and secure a 41-run lead. The recovery ended up overshadowing left-arm pacer Mukesh Choudhary’s figures of 19-2-78-5 for the visitors. The day drew to a close with RoI reaching 24 for one in its second essay.

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Dogra had been gritty until the fall of the host’s eighth wicket, accumulating his runs quietly and letting Abdul Samad (57, 88b, 5x4, 1x6) hog the limelight in a fifth-wicket stand of 101. But once the 41-year-old was confronted with the threat of running out of partners, he acted with greater intent.

As runs started to flow more frequently, Pant started feeling the pinch. He resorted to a barrage of short balls from his quicks, but Dogra and Nasir, aware of what was coming given the field set, rocked back and feasted with a flurry of boundaries.

Dogra eventually pulled Choudhary awkwardly to Mukesh Kumar at fine-leg. Even then, Nasir, who struck thrice on the opening day, maintained the onslaught with a 48-run partnership alongside Sunil Kumar for the last wicket. Nasir treated Mukesh with special disdain, smashing his half-trackers for three maximums.