Jammu & Kashmir Elect to Bat After Winning Toss in Ranji Trophy Final

Jammu & Kashmir captain Paras Dogra won the toss and elected to bat against Karnataka in the final of the Ranji Trophy 2025–26 season, being played in Hubballi. Jammu & Kashmir made two changes to their playing XI from the side that featured in their previous knockout matches. Qamran Iqbal and Sahil Lotra were included in place of Vanshaj Sharma and Shubham Khajuria. Meanwhile, Karnataka retained the same lineup that secured victory in their semi-final. This marks Jammu & Kashmir’s first appearance in a Ranji Trophy final. They entered the summit clash with strong momentum, having defeated Bengal in the semi-final and Madhya Pradesh in the quarter-final. Karnataka, on the other hand, advanced after gaining a first-innings lead against Uttarakhand in the semi-final. Earlier in the tournament, they successfully chased down 325 against Mumbai in the quarter-final and stunned Punjab with a rapid chase of 250 runs in just 28 overs during the group stage. The contest is expected to feature a competitive battle between Jammu & Kashmir’s bowling unit—led by Auqib Nabi, Sunil Kumar, and Abid Mushtaq—and Karnataka’s in-form batting lineup, which includes R Smaran, Karun Nair, Devdutt Padikkal, and KL Rahul. Historically, Karnataka have had the upper hand in this fixture, winning all four previous encounters between the two teams in the Ranji Trophy.