Jammu & Kashmir has reportedly accused Baroda of tampering with the pitch during their ongoing Ranji Trophy 2024-25 match at Reliance Stadium. The incident occurred on Day 3 (Saturday, February 1), when Jammu & Kashmir claimed that the wicket had been altered overnight to favor the home team.

According to ESPNcricinfo, the visitors refused to bat on Day 3, resulting in a delay of about one hour and 25 minutes due to the controversy. The Baroda Cricket Association denied the allegation, attributing the pitch change to dampness instead.

Play resumed at 10:55 A.M after intervention from match referee Arjan Kripal Singh. To compensate for the lost time, the match was extended by an hour.

Jammu & Kashmir alleged that the pitch modification was intended to help Baroda secure an outright victory in the final group stage match and qualify for the knockouts. Baroda, who were chasing a 365-run target in the final innings, were bowled out for 182 runs.

In the previous round, Jammu & Kashmir had defeated a star-studded Mumbai team by five wickets. Following that victory, they lodged an official complaint with the BCCI regarding umpiring issues.

Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association administrator Brig. Anil Gupta confirmed that the board had raised concerns about the umpiring standards following two controversial decisions. In a statement to TOI, he said:

“We have officially submitted a complaint to the BCCI regarding the umpiring quality in the match. We’ve highlighted a few decisions that went against the J&K team. One was when Abid Mushtaq was given out lbw off Mohit Avasthi in the first innings, despite the ball appearing to have pitched outside the leg-stump. Another was when Mumbai’s Shreyas Iyer was given not out despite clearly edging the ball. Having watched the match firsthand, I was disappointed by several umpiring decisions, some of which were truly shocking.”