Srinagar: Abdul Samad scripted history for Jammu and Kashmir in the Ranji Trophy on Monday, October 21. The 22-year-old batter became the first J & K batter to hit two hundreds in the same match in the premier domestic first-class tournament. The SunRisers Hyderabad star dominated Odisha at the Barabati Stadium, helping his team move into a position of strength in the morning session on the final day.
Abdul Samad batted with purpose and pace as he hit 108 in as many balls, smashing six sixes and five boundaries in the second innings. Samad’s blitz helped Jammu and Kashmir declare at 270 for 7 and ask Odisha to bat on the final day. J & K set a 269-run target to Odisha, who were reeling at 14 for 3 after 10 overs.
None of the other Jammu and Kashmir batters went past 50 in their second innings as Abdul Samad stood out with his sensational knock.
It was a familiar tale in the first innings as well. Samad hit 127 from just 117 balls, smashing nine sixes and six boundaries to help Jammu and Kashmir post 270. None of the other batters even managed to go past 40 in the first innings away from home.
Abdul Samad made up for not stepping up at home against Maharashtra in their Ranji Trophy opener. In Srinagar, Samad got out for 23, but J & K rode on Shubham Khajuria’s 255 and Shivansh Sharma’s 106 to post 519 for 7 declared in their first innings.
Samad seems to have timed his twin hundreds against Odisha right as the deadline for IPL 2025 retentions is fast approaching. The 22-year-old, who has been retained by SunRisers in the past, is likely to be released and he needs to keep scoring in the Ranji Trophy to garner the attention of potential buyers in the IPL mega auction, scheduled in November.
Samad scored 276 runs in seven matches for Jammu and Kashmir in the Ranji Trophy 2023-24 season, hitting a hundred and fifty. He seems to be going for a big tally this season.
