Auqib Nabi Dar: Karnataka captain Devdutt Padikkal expressed pride in his team’s effort despite their defeat in the Ranji Trophy final, while graciously acknowledging Jammu & Kashmir’s superior performance and richly deserved historic maiden title triumph.
Reflecting on Karnataka’s journey to the summit clash and the eventual result, Padikkal said, “Really proud of the boys to get to a Ranji final is not easy. It takes a lot of sacrifice, a lot of effort. So really proud of them and of course all credit goes to J&K. They played some really good cricket throughout the season and they thoroughly deserved it. We always understood the toss will play a big role, but at the end of the day it's a final, you know, the pressures of the final will be there regardless of what you do. So it was up to us to really step up. Unfortunately, we weren't able to do that and they played much better cricket than us.”
Jammu & Kashmir dominated large phases of the five-day contest, securing a decisive first-innings lead and batting Karnataka out of contention to seal a landmark victory that marked a watershed moment for cricket in the Jammu and Kashmir.
