Round 1 of Ranji Trophy 2019-20 started with a snake entering the ground and ended with a thrilling finish in Dindigul. Here is a complete round-up of the last four days of the biggest domestic tournament in cricket.
Elite A and B Group:
Mumbai vs Baroda
Heavyweights Mumbai starts with a thumping win with the help of a double hundred from Prithvi Shaw, a hundred from Suryakumar Yadav, an all-round performance, including a 10 wicket-match haul by Shams Mulani and, a valuable contribution by Ajinkya Rahane helped the domestic heavyweights beat Baroda by 309 runs.
Mumbai 431(Shams Mulani 89, Rahane 79, Shaw 66) & 409/4d (Shaw 202, Suryakumar 102*) beat Baroda 307 (Devdhar 160*, Shams Mulani 6/99) & 224 (Hooda 61, Shams Mulani 4/72) by 309 runs.
Railways vs Uttar Pradesh
A low-scoring encounter between Railways and Uttar Pradesh ended in a draw because of some stoppage of play due to bad light. Railways took three important points by gaining the crucial first-innings lead. The young pace battery of UP consisting of Ankit Rajpoot, Yash Dayal, and Shivam Mavi put up an impressive performance.
Railways 253 (Dinesh Mor 91*, Yash Dayal 5/48) & 270 (Dinesh Mor 102, Mavi 4/19) Draw with Uttar Pradesh 175 (Shaukat 92*, Amit Mishra 4/52) & 62/2.
Karnataka vs Tamil Nadu
Karnataka got the better of Tamil Nadu for the 4th time of this season. After beating the latter by one run in Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament final, Karnataka beat Tamil Nadu by 26 runs in the final over of the last day’s play. Krishnappa Gowtham took 14 wickets and scored valuable 73 runs from both the innings.
Karnataka 336 (Padikkal 78, Ashwin 4/79) & 151 (Padikkal, Ashwin 4/46) beat Tamil Nadu 307 (Dinesh Karthik 113, Gowtham 6/110) & 154 (Mukund 42, Gowtham 8/60) by 26 runs.
Saurashtra vs Himachal Pradesh
Captain Jaydev Uadkat led Saurashtra to a win against Himachal Pradesh in Dharamsala on a pitch favoring fast bowlers. Unadkat took 9 wickets including a six-wicket haul in the second innings. Indian International Cheteshwar Pujara had a tough match scoring just 2 and 14 in both innings.
Saurashtra 141(Arora 6/42) & 165/5 (Mankad 47*) beat Himachal Pradesh 120 (Mankad 3/13) & 182 (Unadkat 6/51) by 5 wickets.
Andhra Pradesh vs Vidarbha
Andhra Pradesh earned a hard-fought draw against defending champions Vidarbha after conceding a 230-run lead in the first innings. Ricky Bhui and Srikar Bharat added unbeaten 190 runs for the fourth wicket with both scoring hundreds. Earlier for Vidarbha, professional recruit Ganesh Satish scored a stunning 237 runs in the first innings.
Andhra Pradesh 211 (Vihari 83, Sarwate 4/50) & 314/3 (Bhui 100*, Srikar Bharat 102*) draw with Vidarbha 441 (Ganesh Satish 237)
Punjab vs Rajasthan
Captain Mandeep Singh led Punjab to an easy 10-wicket victory over Rajasthan, he scored 122 runs from 174 balls including 17 fours and 1 six to help Punjab gain a first-innings lead and the bowlers restricted Rajasthan to just 168 runs in the second innings.
Punjab 358 (Mandeep Singh 122, SK Sharma 4/82) & 68/0 (Gill 36*) beat Rajasthan 257 (Kaul 4/60) & 168/10 (Lomror 43, Sanvir 3/28) by 10 wickets.
Kerala vs Delhi
Kerala played out a disappointing draw at home against Delhi after taking a 383-run first innings lead. Delhi fought hard in the second innings with Nitish Rana and Kunal Chandela scoring tons. Earlier, for Kerala, Sachin Baby and Robin Uthappa scored hundreds and all-rounder Jalaj Saxena took 6 wickets to restrict Delhi to 142 runs in the first innings.
Kerala 525/9 dec (Sachin Baby 155, Robin Uthappa 102) draw Delhi 142 (Saxena 6/63) & Delhi 395/4 ( Kunal Chandela 125, Nitish 114 ).
Gujarat vs Hyderabad
A five-wicket haul in the second innings by Rush Kalaria helped Gujarat beat Hyderabad by 8 wickets. Gujarat Captain Priyank Panchal scored 90 from 80 balls including 14 fours and 2 sixes while chasing 187 runs in the fourth innings.
Gujarat 313 (Juneja 94, Mehdi Hassan 4/78) & 187/2 ( Panchal 90 ) beat Hyderabad 233 ( Sumanth 69*, Chawla 3/61 ) & 266 ( Tanmay Agarwal 96, Rush Kalaria 5/45) by 8 wickets.
Elite Group C:
Jharkhand vs Tripura
Jharkhand scored a memorable win after following on in the second innings. This is the first time in the history of Ranji Trophy that a team has won after following on, evoking memories of the iconic Eden Gardens Test of 2001. From 185 for 5, hundreds from Ishank Jaggi and Saurabh Tiwary helped Jharkhand secure a 264 runs second innings lead and they bowled Tripura out for 211 runs in the fourth innings with Ashish Kumar taking 5 wickets.
Jharkhand 136 (Rana Dutta 4/42) & 418/8 decl. (Saurabh Tiwary 122*, Jaggi 107*) beat Tripura 289 (Milind Kumar 59) & 211 (Ashish Kumar 5/67) by 54 runs.
Odisha vs Chhattisgarh
19-year-old Rajesh Mohanty took 10 wickets including a six-wicket haul in the second innings helped Odisha beat Chhattisgarh by innings and 3 runs at Raipur.
Odisha 215 (Sujit Lenka 56, Puneet Datey 4/58) beat Chhattisgarh 134 (Rajesh Mohanty 6/47) & 78 (Mohanty 4/19) by innings & 3 runs.
Haryana vs Maharashtra
Haryana starts the season with a thumping innings victory over Maharashtra. Hundreds by Rohilla and Shivam Chauhan helped Haryana post 401 in the first innings and then, Harsh Patel took 9 wickets from two innings including a five-wicket haul in the second innings to beat Maharashtra by an innings and 68 runs.
Haryana 491 (Rohilla 142, Shivam Chauhan 117) beat Maharashtra 247 (Harshal Patel 4/70) & 86 (Harshal Patel 5/22) by innings & 68 runs.
Jammu Kashmir vs Uttarakhand
A 9-wicket haul by Ram Dayal helped Jammu Kashmir beat Uttarakhand by massive 253 runs.
Jammu Kashmir 182 (Shubham Khajuria 47) & 304 (Fazil Rashid 73*) beat Uttarakhand 84 (Mudhasir 5/13) & 149 (Ram Dayal 5/58) by 253 runs.
Services vs Assam
A low-scoring draw was played out between Services and Assam but Assam secured three crucial points on account of the first-innings lead. U-19 World Cup-winning and IPL star Riyan Parag scored a valuable 67 runs to help Assam gain a first-innings lead.
Services 124 (Arup Das 4/39) & 279 (Rajat Paliwal 89*, Arup Das 5/45) draw with Assam 162 (Riyan Parag 66) & 74/5
Plate Group:
Puduchery vs Bihar
Puduchery starts the season with a 10-wicket win over Bihar. Sagar Udeshi took 9 wickets from two innings including six wickets in the first innings. During the second innings, professional recruit Vinay Kumar completed 400 wickets in the Ranji Trophy.
Puducherry 300 (Paras Dogra 70, Vivek Kumar 5/51) & 70/0 (Dogra 42*) beat Bihar 173 (Sagar Udeshi 6/50) & 196 (Vinay Kumar 4/57) by 10 wickets.
Chandigarh vs Arunachal Pradesh
Chandigarh starts the season with a massive innings victory over Arunachal Pradesh. Arslan Khan’s double century and hundreds by Shivam Bhambri and Manan Vohra helped Chandigarh post 503 for 2 in the first innings and Gurinder Singh took 6 wickets they beat Arunachal by innings & 173 runs.
Chandigarh 503/2 decl. (Arslan 233*, Vohra 124, Shivam Bhambri 105) beat Arunachal Pradesh 147 (Nirmohi 5/26) & 183 (Gurinder 6/50) by innings & 173 runs.
Goa vs Sikkim
Goa starts the season with a win, beating Sikkim by 9 wickets. Hundreds by Skipper Amit Verma and Snehal Kauthankar in the first innings propelled Goa to 436 for 6 in the first innings and a combined effort from the bowling unit led Goa to an easy victory. All-rounder Iqbal Abdulla scored 135 for his adopted team in the second innings to delay Goa’s win.
Goa 436/6 decl. (Snehal Kauthankar 134, Amit Verma 134) & 75/1 (Suyash 49*) beat Sikkim 136 (Lakshay Gary 3/23) & 374 (Iqbal Abdulla 135) by 9 wickets.
Manipur vs Mizoram
Rex Singh was the star of the show for Manipur, taking a ten-wicket haul in the match including 22 for 8 in the first innings as Manipur beat Mizoram by 6 wickets. Professional KB Pawan scored a hundred for Mizoram in the second innings.
Manipur 289 (Chingangbam Singh 89) & 69/4 (Jayanta 16*) beat Mizoram 65 (Rex Singh 8/22) & 290 (KB Pawan 124) by 6 wickets.
Meghalaya vs Nagaland
A hundred from Captain Puneet Bisht and Sanjay Yadav scalping 13 wickets including a 9-wicket haul in the first innings helped Meghalaya beat Nagaland by 110 runs.
Meghalaya 285 (Puneet Bisht 125, Lemtur 7/53) & 142 (Lemtur 6/54) beat Nagaland 136 (Sanjay Yadav 9/52) & 181 (Sanjay Yadav 4/60) by 110 runs.
Round 2 of the Ranji Season starts on December 17.
Cover Image: Vidarbha’s Ganesh Satish raises his bat after scoring a double ton (Courtesy: BCCI)
