From floods to runs: Dream hundred for J&K opener Khajuria

Young Jammu and Kashmir opener Shubham Khajuria hits maiden hundred to put the team from the flood-ravaged Valley in control of their opening Ranji Trophy match against 40-time Mumbai. Harish Kotian reports.

'Where there’s a will, there’s a way!'

In domestic cricket, the adage aptly fits the Jammu and Kashmir Ranji Trophy team.

Nearly three months ago, the cricketers were wondering whether they would survive at all after the Valley experienced its worst floods in 50 years, leaving hundreds dead and many villages in the state submerged.

There was hardly any time for pre-season practice after a narrow escape from the flooded zone and the squad only got together last month to train for the current season.

What was worse, the minnows were handed the worst possible draw: pitted against 40-time champions Mumbai in their opening match.

Many expected it to be a one-sided affair, since beating Mumbai at their home venue -- the Wankhede stadium – is next to impossible. However, what transpired over the first two days of the Group A encounter left cricket aficionados stunned.

Opener Shubham Khajuria’s splendid century put J&K in a strong position and on pole position to script a sensational upset over the domestic powerhouse.

He stroked 107 to guide the visitors to 254 in their first innings, in reply to Mumbai’s 236, before the hosts collapsed to 66 for four in their second innings.

With two days to go, Mumbai are just 48 runs ahead and staring at an embarrassing defeat.

At the end of the second day’s play, Khajuria, 19, revealed that the nightmarish experience of getting stuck in the floods made the team mentally strong.

“The flood situation in Kashmir helped us with our fitness,” he joked initially.

“We were stuck in the floods for six days and we became mentally strong from that experience. We didn’t get any food for six days and we had to sleep on the roads during that period; so that tough period made us mentally strong,” the right-hander added.

The J&K opener was playing a local tournament in Srinagar when heavy rain from September 2 left the area flooded amidst vast devastation.

“I was playing a tournament in Srinagar when the floods happened. I was based at Hotel Batra in Sonwar (near Srinagar) on the first floor and when I woke up in the morning at 8 I saw that the entire ground floor was submerged with water.”

He and his some of his team mates were stranded in the hotel for two days with nothing to eat.

“We waited at the hotel only and a rescue team reached there after two days. After that we were taken to the helipad where we had to wait for four days in the queue. I could not even contact my parents, who were in Jammu, because there was no mobile network,” the youngster added.

For Khajuria, scoring his first century in the Ranji Trophy is a big moment in his fledgling career. Obviously, he was delighted that it came at the historic Wankhede.

“This is is my first century in Ranji Trophy, so it is obviously very big for me. This will be a big motivation for the season ahead.

Talking about the team’s prospects for the upcoming season, he said: “All the players in the team are making an effort to improve everyday and the unity in the camp is very good. All of us have been together for a long time, starting from junior cricket, so in the last 10-12 years we have played together.”