With its back against the wall against Baroda, defending champion Jammu and Kashmir was in dire need of somebody to step up and pull it out of trouble.
Abdul Samad, its highest run-getter last season, answered that call with his eighth First-Class century in the Ranji Trophy on Thursday.
Samad reached the milestone by striking 20 runs in a single over. His knock has taken J&K to 233/4 at Tea, 88 runs behind Baroda’s first-innings lead.
Samad’s exploits last season played a key role in Jammu and Kashmir’s maiden title triumph. The 25-year-old scored 748 runs in 15 innings at an average of 57.53, including one century and five fifties.
In the IPL earlier this year, Samad exhibited his power-fitting finesse for the Lucknow Super Giants on occasions, but struggled for consistency. Samad managed to score only 116 runs in eight matches a disappointing average of 19.33 and strike rate of 131.82.
Samad was eventually dismissed for 143 off 152, his highest FC score.
Published on Oct 29, 2026
