There is something quietly disorienting about
Jammu and Kashmir hosting a
Ranji Trophy semi-final. Not because they lack merit — they've earned this stage — but because the mind still associates them with peripheral status, with gallant near-misses rather than occasions of genuine consequence.
Bengal, by contrast, arrive with the burden of expectation that comes from tradition. They have been here before, many times, though not always with profit.
The recent scorecards tell a story of contrasts in temperament.
Bengal's last Ranji outing saw them accumulate 629 runs, a first-innings assertion that spoke to patience and method.
Jammu and Kashmir, meanwhile, have been variously bundled for 233 and overwhelmed to the tune of 771 conceded. Their form line reads like a warning: two draws, a loss.
Bengal's shows more consistency, though they too faltered in January when amassing 205 in reply to 393.
What matters here is not momentum but durability. The
Ranji Trophy semi-final rewards not the blazing hand but the long vigil, the ability to bat twice in trying conditions without capitulation.
Bengal possess batsmen schooled in occupation; their recent 519 against opposition they should have dominated suggests both discipline and a certain lack of killer instinct.
Jammu and Kashmir's problem is simpler: fragility. When they concede 771 in a single match, it speaks either to conditions overwhelmingly favouring batsmen or to bowling that lost its bearings entirely.
Captaincy will weigh heavily.
Bengal's leadership must decide whether to press for results or trust the grinding attrition that has served them well.
Jammu and Kashmir, playing at home, might be tempted toward adventurism — declarations, aggressive fields — but this is rarely wise in knockout cricket. The pitch, one suspects, will not be extravagant. Semi-finals seldom are. It will ask questions across five days rather than answer them in three.
There is romance in
Jammu and Kashmir's presence here. But romance and semi-finals do not always coexist comfortably.
Bengal know this well enough. They have lost semi-finals before, squandered positions of comfort. Whether they can convert cumulative authority into decisive performance remains the question they must answer once more.
