Karnataka's veteran opener KL Rahul's stay at the crease on Day 3 of the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 final was short-lived. An in-form Jammu & Kashmir pacer Auqib Nabi dismissed him with a peach of the delivery, bowling in the corridor of uncertainty. Rahul stood his ground and the umpire didn't give him out. Jammu & Kashmir players were confident and opted for DRS which worked in their favour as the ultraedge showed a clear spike.
Rahul and Mayank Agarwal were cautious against the new ball after Prasidh Krishna's fifer helped Karnataka bowl out Jammu & Kashmir for 584. Rahul was trying to fend off the new ball threat. But, Nabi in the 12th over of the innings, he bowled a back of the length delivery which skidded on to Rahul's angled bat. He managed to square up Rahul as the ball carried to wicketkeeper Kanhaiya Wadhawan after a faint edge.
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The late movement got the better of Rahul who scored a century in the run chase against Mumbai in the quarterfinal and a century against Uttarakhand in the semifinal.
Agarwal, Padikkal at the crease
He managed to score 13 runs from 39 balls, including two fours in the final of the first innings. Karnataka lost their first wicket for 27 runs. At lunch break, Karnataka were 35/1 after 13 overs. Skipper Devdutt Padikkal joined Mayank Agarwal in the middle. Agarwal had scored 16 runs from 37 deliveries in the first session. On the other end, Padikkal arrived at the crease and opened his mark with a boundary off Nabi with a cover drive.
Nabi has been in sensational form this season. He is the leading wicket-taker. Rahul became his 56th scalp of the season.
1 century, 5 fifties and a fifer in first innings
Earlier, Jammu & Kashmir captain Paras Dogra won the toss and opted to bat first. Shubham Pundir scored a century (121) whereas opener Yawar Hassan (88), skipper Dogra (70), Abdul Samad (61), Wadhawan (70), Sahil Lotra (72) scored fifties. Towards the end, Yudhvir Singh Charak contributed with a 28-ball 30 cameo before getting run out by Padikkal. Krishna bowled a barrage of bouncers and short balls. The tally, lanky pacer was the pitch of the bowlers in Karnataka lineup, taking a fifer from 34.1 overs, including seven maidens. He conceded 98 runs.