Jammu and Kashmir have emerged as the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 winner. They prevailed over the eight-time champions Karnataka to win their maiden title in Hubbali last week. Often counted among the underdogs, the Paras Dogra-led side beat an experienced outfit comprising players like KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, skipper Devdutt Padikkal and Prasidh Krishna. Let’s take a detailed look at how the Jammu and Kashmir cricket team etched their name into the history of Ranji Trophy.

Recap of Ranji Trophy 2025-26 Final Match

Jammu and Kashmir won the toss and opted to bat first, which eventually went in their favour. Yaser Hassan (88) and Shubham Pundir (121) provided a great start to the side. Then, fifties from skipper Paras Dogra (70), Abdul Samad (61), Kanhaiya Wadhawan (70) and Sahil Lotra (72) helped the Jammu and Kashmir cricket team to set up a mammoth total of 584. Prasidh Krishna was the pick of the bowlers for Karnataka with a five-wicket haul.

Congratulations to the Jammu and Kashmir team for their first ever Ranji Trophy win! This historic triumph reflects remarkable grit, discipline and passion of the team. It is a proud moment for the people of Jammu and Kashmir and it highlights the growing sporting passion and… pic.twitter.com/3fJO89Z5F8

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 28, 2026

Jammu and Kashmir’s speedster Aquib Nabi continued his sensational form in the final, as he dismissed veteran batters, KL Rahul and Karun Nair. Although Mayank Agrawal played a terrific knock of 160, Nabi went past his defense, as Karnataka were all-out for 293. Leading by 291 runs, Jammu and Kashmir lost a few early wickets. However, Qamran Iqbal (160*) and Sahil Lotra (101*) played impressive knocks to dominate the proceedings. Krishna took two wickets for the Karnataka side.

𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐉𝐀𝐌𝐌𝐔 & 𝐊𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐌𝐈𝐑! 🏆

🎥 An outpouring of pure, unadulterated emotion as J&K conquer the summit to claim their first-ever #RanjiTrophy crown 🫡

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/G0ytZLEyNB@IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/XRyia1coda

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) February 28, 2026

Jammu and Kashmir finally declared the innings on 342/4, and the match ended as a draw. But, based on the first innings lead, they became the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 winner. Pundir was adjudged as the Player of the Match for his 121-run knock. Meanwhile, Nabi was named the Player of the Tournament for scoring 245 runs and picking up 60 wickets.

Jammu and Kashmir’s Title Win Marks the Beginning of a Fresh Chapter

The Jammu and Kashmir cricket team made their Ranji Trophy debut in the 1959-60 season. Their first victory came in the 1982-83 season against the Services side. The 2013-14 season saw them enter the knockout stage of the Ranji Trophy for the first time. However, their campaign was cut-short by Punjab, losing by 100 runs in the quarterfinal.

𝗪.𝗜.𝗡.𝗡.𝗘.𝗥.𝗦 🏆

Congratulations to Jammu & Kashmir on clinching the #RanjiTrophy 2025-26 title 👏@IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/MK783wzvtZ

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) February 28, 2026

Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir caused a major upset in the 2014-15 season. They sealed a 237-run chase to beat a strong outfit like Mumbai with a clinical all-round performance. So far, Jammu and Kashmir have played 335 matches in the competition and secured victories on 46 occasions, while facing 207 losses. Let’s know more about how they performed in the last few editions.

2019-20: The Parvez Rasool-led Jammu and Kashmir topped their respective group points table with six wins in nine appearances, as they were close to producing their best finish in the history of Ranji Trophy. But Karnataka beat them on all fronts by 167 runs in the quarterfinal to end their season.

2021-22: With a solitary win against Puducherry in three group games under Ian Dev Singh, Jammu and Kashmir failed to advance to the next stage. Their two losses came against Karnataka and Railways.

2022-23: Led by Shubham Pundir, the Jammu and Kashmir cricket team had one of their worst performances in the tournament this season. They finished their campaign with just a single win in seven games and finished seventh in the eight-team group.

2023-24: Under the captaincy of Shubham Khajuria, Jammu Kashmir managed to win two out of their seven league games. They finished fourth in the points table, which signaled an improvement in their performances.

2024-25: With able guidance from Paras Dogra, Jammu and Kashmir topped their group with five victories in seven games. However, Kerala secured a first-innings lead to reach the top four in the quarterfinal match-up between both teams.

2025-26: With three wins and three draws in the group stage, Jammu and Kashmir secured second place in the league stage. They defied all odds to produce clutch performances and beat teams like Madhya Pradesh and Bengal in the knockouts. In the end, they finally prevailed over Karnataka on the basis of the first innings lead. The bundle of talent and discipline in execution have resulted in Jammu and Kashmir cricket team emerging as a Ranji Trophy 2025-26 winner.

Conclusion

They were led by the seasoned veteran, Paras Dogra, who joined the team ahead of the 2024-25 season. The 41-year-old became only the second man after Wasim Jaffer in the history of Ranji Trophy to breach past the 10,000-run mark. With Jammu and Kashmir lacking in experienced leadership, Dogra’s appointment as a captain turned things upside down for them. With proven performances in the last two decades and having a strong reputation, the players looked up to him and returned with consistent performances.

𝗝𝗼𝘆, 𝗷𝘂𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 🥹

🎥 𝙍𝙖𝙬 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 of J&K soaking in every single second of a historic day they didn’t want to end 🥳

Jammu & Kashmir are #RanjiTrophy CHAMPIONS! 🏆@IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/9hBO5BN3St

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) March 1, 2026

The emergence of pacer Aquib Nabi has also not allowed the opposition to sniff an opportunity to get ahead of Jammu and Kashmir in this season. Certainly, the title victory has infused fresh energy into the state’s domestic cricket setup. It will also help bring in more talented youngsters, who dream of winning the coveted title for the team and stake their claim for a place in the national side.