India, Feb. 28 -- It was a team that had spent decades on the margins of Indian domestic cricket, but on Saturday, as captain Paras Dogra declared the innings, Jammu & Kashmir were no longer the underdog story. They defeated eight-time winners Karnataka on the basis of a first innings lead of 291 runs after the game was drawn. They were champions, history-makers.

For the first time since their Ranji journey began in 1959, J&K have a title to call their own. A moment carved out of resilience and an unshakeable belief that they belonged, despite infrastructural and systematic deficits.

The J&K chief minister, Omar Abdullah, and bigwigs of the administration, cricket and government, were at Hubballi to witness the etch the moment for a lif...