Jammu and Kashmir Alleges Pitch Tampering by Baroda in Crucial Ranji Trophy Match

The ongoing Ranji Trophy 2024-25 Elite Group A match between J&K and Baroda grabbed attention for the wrong reasons. The Jammu and Kashmir team was led by the Paras Dogra and Krunal Pandya took charge of the Baroda team. The match was held in the Reliance Stadium in Vadodara. 

During Day 3 of this match in Vadodara took a controversial turn after the visitor's team Jammu and Kashmir accused Baroda of tampering with the pitch. Due to this, the match was started late on the third day as the players of Jammu and Kashmir protested over this pitch-tampering issue.

Jammu and Kashmir accuse Baroda of Pitch Tempering, BCA deny allegations

J&K alleged the surface was tampered with overnight to help Baroda force an outright result in their favor to ensure qualification for the knockouts.#RanjiTrophy @abhishereporter @vikrantgupta73 pic.twitter.com/d4XLZfP4KE

— Rohit Baliyan (@rohit_balyan) February 2, 2025

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According to the reports from The Indian Express, the issue came up on Saturday when the coach of Jammu and Kashmir, Ajay Sharma noticed a change in the pitch's color compared to the first two days. Jammu and Kashmir have also filed an official complaint on this pitch tampering. Meanwhile, the Baroda team has dismissed the allegations, calling them 'baseless',

The Baroda Cricket Association official responded over this issue and said "The allegations made by the J&K coach are baseless. The outfield was wet and due to winter there was moisture on the pitch and even the outfield was wet. The umpire too felt the same. Anyone who has played cricket will understand that during winter there is moisture on the pitch and sometimes the outfield takes time to dry. Sometimes matches are delayed but calling it pitch-fixed and blaming the association for this, we will not accept these allegations. We will be approaching the BCCI for remarks made by the coach."

This match is crucial for both teams. If Jammu and Kashmir win the match they finish at the top of their group, while if Baroda wins the match, they will qualify for the quarter-finals. Jammu and Kashmir has set a target of 365 runs for Baroda.

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