27-year-old left-handed batsman Shubham Pundir finished the day unbeaten on 117 runs. He was joined at the crease by Abdul Samad, who is on 52 runs. After skipper Paras Dogra was sidelined with an injury, the pair forged a crucial third-wicket partnership of 105 runs to strengthen the team’s position.

Earlier, Pundir and Yawar Hasan added 139 runs for the second wicket to lay the foundation for a big score. Pundir completes his century with a six over midwicket off Shikhar Shetty. After scoring the century, he took off his helmet and raised his hand towards the dressing room in celebration, much to the cheers of the on-field crowd.

At the start of the match, Jammu and Kashmir won the toss and decided to bat. But it didn’t get off to a good start as opener Kamran Iqbal scored just 6 runs and was caught by KL Rahul at slip off Prasidh Krishnar. After that Yawar and Pundi took over and took the team to 104 for 1 wicket till lunch.

Karnataka’s bowlers bowled at controlled line-lengths but failed to pick up wickets. Especially the highest wicket taker of the season Shreyas Gopal failed to beat the batsman several times. At the end of the day, the unbeaten pair of Pundir and Samad put Jammu and Kashmir in a clear advantageous position and strengthened their chances of maintaining their dominance on the second day of the finals.