'Discipline Is the Main Thing': Lotra on J&K's Run to Final

This is just the beginning, said Sahil Lotra as Auqib Nabi's seventh five-wicket haul and Qamran Iqbal's unbeaten 94 put Jammu & Kashmir on the brink of a historic maiden Ranji Trophy title against Karnataka.

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Pacer Auqib Nabi and an unorthodox opener Qamran Iqbal blended their skills to place Jammu and Kashmir in a prime position to lift their maiden Ranji Trophy title against Karnataka on the penultimate day of the five-day final in Hubballi on Friday.

Iqbal (94 not out) struck his seventh first-class fifty as Jammu and Kashmir reached 186 for four at stumps in their second innings, for an overall lead of 477 runs. Earlier in the day, Nabi took his seventh five-wicket haul (5/54) of the season as J&K bowled out Karnataka for 293, grabbing an innings lead of 291 runs.

Asked how exciting was the prospect of lifting the trophy for the first time, J&K's Sahil Lotra said, "This is just the beginning, we are all happy and excited, this is the first time we are playing in the finals, this is a very proud moment for us. "We are just moving forward, the hard work we have put in this year, the discipline we have shown, this is the result of that.

Speaking about coach Ajay Sharma, Lotra said that always stays positive and wants the players to give their 100 percent at all times. "The entire year, for the past six months, he has been making us practice, our net sessions. He has always said that there is tension outside, he just wants us to be 100% in the net and 100% in the match.

"He is always positive in the dressing room. Before and after Ajay sir's arrival."

When asked about the changes Sharma has brought into the team, Lotra said, "I think the main thing is discipline, because for the past four years, we have always had a three-month camp before the season. We play everywhere, whether it is in Kashmir or Jammu, we also go out to play tournaments, Buchi Babu."

With one-and-half-days play still remaining in the match, Karnataka might have hoped to bowl out J&K cheaply and mount a fourth innings chase, as they had done a couple of times this season.

On his part, Mayank Agarwal praised Nabi for the manner in which has bowled and put Karnataka under pressure.

"He deserves the credit and the wickets. I think the good thing that he's done is he's challenged batsmen, he's challenged the batsmen's edges, both sides of the edges and also he's kept very, very tight lines. "So, keeps you under pressure. I won't discuss about what I did because obviously..."

Mayank also said that the plan was to take it session by session when they batted.

"Well, very honestly, it was just about playing one hour, one session and take it session by session.

"The thought was that if we can play the first session without losing a wicket, then I know things could have changed a bit because the new ball would have been done. "They would have been on the field for some time and when you play a session without losing a wicket, it starts to quietly put pressure on them."

However, things panned out differently as Karnataka were bowled out under 300.