Three outright wins from four games between November and December had propelled Jammu & Kashmir to the top of Group C. They had two more matches against, according to the stats, not the strongest opponents. History beckoned: J&K had never made the quarter-finals in 53 Ranji Trophy seasons. Their previous best was a pre-quarters finish 13 seasons ago.
Then, like a long-distance runner, J&K hit a wall. Endurance athletes sometimes suffer from debilitating pain in their muscles that acts like an internal wall. For J&K, the obstacle was created by external factors.
Three days into their penultimate group match, against Hyderabad, J&K were fighting for survival. They were six down in the first innings and so far behind that runs didn't matter. They had 14 wickets to save the game, but that many often fall in a day in the Ranji Trophy. Samiullah Beigh and Hardeep Singh, the not-out batsmen at stumps on the third day, needed rest. Instead, they were woken up by J&K Police doing a routine search of the team hotel in the wee hours on December 24. Upset at the disturbance, the players struggled for sleep ahead of one of their most important days of cricket. How could they focus?
Beigh and Hardeep responded with bloody-minded resilience, thwarting Hyderabad for more than 30 overs on the final day. The importance of their rearguard half-centuries became apparent when J&K eventually lost their last four wickets for 16 runs. In the follow-on, the top-order batsmen ensured Beigh and Hardeep's fight wasn't in vain. They fought out a draw.
And when they took on Tripura on in Agartala, the protagonists of the draw against Hyderabad contributed significantly once again. Beigh picked up his second five-wicket haul; Hardeep responded with another half-century under pressure - J&K were trailing by 65 when their fifth wicket fell in the first innings - and was out only after securing the lead. Three points earned. Surely that was enough. It wasn't.
New Year's Day - the third day of the ongoing Ranji round - had a surprise for J&K. By winning a match outright, Goa had caught up with J&K on points and had a better quotient. Another sleepless night, this time to work out what needed to be done on the final day against Tripura. This time their fate was in their hands.
Rasool had been the star of J&K's previous Ranji season, inspiring the team with bat and ball. His performances had brought him first to the IPL and then the Indian team. This season, however, his form was indifferent but on the final day of the league stage, against Tripura, he turned it around. He played a calculating innings and then picked up seven wickets to help J&K reach the quarter-finals for the first time.
"The morale of the boys was boosted last year because of my inclusion in the Indian team," Rasool said. "It gave them a reason to believe that they could go further. Previously, the players never thought beyond Ranji level."
The success of this team, as Rasool said, was built on teamwork. Last year, he was the lone star, leading their batting and bowling charts with 594 runs and 33 wickets. This year, he is the second-highest scorer, while six other batsmen have scored more than 300 runs. J&K have found two new leading wicket-takers in their seamers Mohammed Mudhashir and Beigh. These are encouraging signs for cricket in the state and show the significance of a role model. The tests will be tougher next season when the team plays in the big league. For now, they could do with fortune working for them for a change, in the knockouts.