Kalyani, Feb. 19 -- In their first Ranji Trophy semi-finals, Jammu and Kashmir didn't want to deal in the what ifs. So even when they were 146/5 in reply to Bengal's first innings total of 328, they didn't give up. Even when the opposition attack consisted of Mohammed Shami, Mukesh Kumar and Akash Deep, they didn't give up. Rather, they simply found a way to raise their level. And see where that has got them. From 146/5, they made their way to 302. A first-innings lead can be the difference between victory and defeat in the Ranji but J&K's bowlers then bundled Bengal out for 99. It left them needing just 126 for victory and they duly closed out the match on Day 4. The first-time semi-finalists are now first-time finalists. As the players streamed out onto the ground after the win, the outpouring of joy needed to be seen to be believed. Soon, they were dancing in the dressing room as well. "We didn't think too much," said Paras Dogra, 41, Jammu & Kashmir's journeyman captain. "A 26-run lead doesn't matter because we had seven sessions and two-and-a-half days left." The chase wasn't easy -- the weight of history can do strange things to cricketers. Shami had taken 8/90 in the first innings and a few early wickets would have got the pacer in the mood again. The nerves, however, were put to rest by single-minded focus. Overnight batter Shubham Pundir was showing some glimpse of fluency when Shami got the ball to swing into him and take out his stumps. By the time Akash had dismissed Dogra by luring him into an edge wide of his off stump, the target had been watered down to 55. From there however Vanshaj Sharma (43 no) and Abdul Samad (30 no) gave Bengal no chance, wrapping up the win just before lunch. The real turning point came on Tuesday, though, when Bengal were dismissed for just 99. "I won't lie. We didn't think that they would get out on 99 runs," said Dogra, who during the game also became the second batter after Wasim Jaffer to cross 10,000 Ranji Trophy runs. After 335 matches and 67 years, J&K are into their first final. Let that sink in. For Dogra, who represented Himachal Pradesh and Puducherry before shifting, the wait has been 146 matches over 25 years. The occasion is certainly not lost on the team or on Dogra. "Last year we lost by one run (Kerala's first innings lead in the quarter-final) and I know that one run will haunt us for a long time," said coach Ajay Sharma. "But we have become a team to reckon with. We got the strength, we got the fast bowlers, we got the spinners." Dogra, who has been playing since 2001, added: "We can take 20 wickets. To win matches, it's very important to take 20 wickets. I think we have that strength." Jammu & Kashmir didn't make it here overnight. A lot of planning and discussions went into building this team but the most important additions were those of Sharma and Dogra. Mithun Manhas, the current BCCI president, had called up Sharma-under whom he had played at Delhi-in 2022, asking him to join the team as the head coach. When he joined, Sharma realised the prevalence of white-ball mindset. "These people only think about white ball and the IPL, and we have 5-6 players in the IPL. But my aim is to win the Ranji Trophy. So we worked a lot on it," said Sharma. Sharma added: "It took 1-2 years to understand them because it is a different culture. But as I understood, I had to come to their level from my level... I slowly made them understand that you are all talented guys. And you are all 19-20 years old. If you apply a little, you can play for India." The transition saw them playing more red-ball cricket under Sharma and led to a quarter-final finish in the Ranji Trophy last year with Dogra as captain."This year we reached the semi-finals in Buchi Babu. That gave belief that we can beat big teams," said Sharma. And so began this year's Ranji campaign, with a defeat to no less a team than Mumbai (by 35 runs) in the first match. Brief scores: Bengal 328 & 99. J&K 302 & 126/4 (Vanshaj Sharma 43*, Akash Deep 3/46). J&K won by 6 wkts....