India, Feb. 19 -- The year was 2014. Mumbai, led by Suryakumar Yadav, entered the tournament as 40-time champions. They may not have possessed the star power of earlier eras, but with Wasim Jaffer, Aditya Tare, Abhishek Nayar, Dhawal Kulkarni, and the young duo of Shreyas Iyer and Shardul Thakur in their ranks, they still packed a formidable punch. So when Mumbai hosted J&K in a Group A clash at the Wankhede Stadium, the result appeared a foregone conclusion on paper. But cricket matches aren't decided on paper. On the field, the heavyweights from Mumbai were edged out by a side whose best achievement until then had been a quarterfinal appearance the previous season.

Cut to 2026, and boy, have J&K come a long way. A maiden Ranji Trophy f...