India's batting is a major concern with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli struggling for runs ahead of the tour of Australia.
Ganesh Satish slammed an unbeaten 117 and shared 216 runs with opener Lokesh Rahul (94 batting) as Karnataka took control of their Ranji Trophy summit clash against Maharashtra on the second day in Hyderabad.
A summary of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Wednesday.
Pacer Shardul Thakur had match figures of eight for 113 as Mumbai beat Delhi by 204 runs to enter the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy.
The focus will be firmly on India's Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane and young prodigy Prithvi Shaw when Mumbai take on Karnataka in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B game, beginning in Mumbai on Friday. Both Rahane and Shaw failed with the bat in the last Ranji Trophy game against Railways which the domestic giants lost by 10 wickets inside two and half days.
Tamil Nadu on Wednesday named a strong team comprising ace off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and the experienced Dinesh Karthik and Abhinav Mukund for the next two Ranji Trophy games against Mumbai and Railways. The team led by Vijay Shankar will take on Mumbai at the M A Chidambaram stadium in Chennai from January 11 followed by the clash against Railways from January 19.
Swashbuckling batsman Virender Sehwag, who announced his retirement from international cricket, will be the star attraction as Haryana takes on Karnataka in a Group A Ranji Trophy match, starting in Mysuru, on Thursday.
A round-up of all the Ranji Trophy matches played on Friday.
Natraj Behera scored his second century of the match as Odisha rallied to earn a draw after being forced to follow on against Mumbai, on the fourth and final day of their Group A Ranji Trophy match, in Mumbai.
The outings of Abhimanyu Easwaran, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Prasidh Krishna will be the primary focal points of India A's four-day match against their Australian counterparts
Cheteshwar Pujara hit an unbeaten century to guide Saurashtra to the Ranji Trophy final after they outclassed Karnataka by five wickets in the semi-final in Bengaluru, on Monday.
A round-up of Ranji Trophy matches played on Saturday.
Round-up of the Ranji Trophy matches being played in different parts of the country
A round-up of Ranji Trophy matches played on Sunday.
A summary of Day 2 action in the Ranji Trophy matches, played at various venues across the country.
Delhi survived a mighty scare before their lower order, led by Nitish Rana and Sumit Narwal, saved the day with some gritty batting as they beat Rajasthan by two wickets in their Group B Ranji Trophy match in Wayanad on Thursday. Resuming the final day on 51 for 3, needing 102 runs more to win, Delhi suffered a batting collapse but finally crossed the target of 153 with Rana (31) and Narwal (27 not out) playing some sensible cricket to take their side home at the Krishnagiri Stadium. The day's start for Delhi was a horrible one with overnight batsman Vikas Tokas (10) being bowled by Pankaj Singh in the fifth over of the day with the addition of just five runs to his individual overnight score. The score was 62 for 4 at that stage.
The Gujarat Titans (GT) have bolstered their squad with wicketkeeper-batsman B.R. Sharath
A round-up of the fourth and final day's play in the Ranji Trophy matches across the country.
Summary of all Ranji Trophy matches played on Saturday
Mayank Agarwal, after experiencing burning sensations in his throat, is on the path to recovery in Bengaluru.
Saurashtra, led by the inspirational Jaydev Unadkat, will back themselves to win an elusive Ranji Trophy title at home but a buoyant Bengal will be no pushovers in what promises to be an absorbing final beginning, in Rajkot, on Monday. Both the teams are desperate to go all the way with Saurashtra reaching their fourth final in eight seasons while Bengal has not tasted success in the premier domestic event since the 1989-90 triumph.
With a stellar record of 398 runs, featuring two centuries and two fifties in just six appearances, can Agarwal return to the Indian team?
At stumps on the penultimate day, Karnataka skipper R Vinay Kumar (19) and Shreyas Gopal (1) were batting at the Eden Gardens.
A summary of the first day's proceedings in the Ranji Trophy matches across the country.
A summary of all the action from Day 2 of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Wednesday.
The captains and coaches also deliberated over the relevance of Duleep Trophy and the Irani Trophy.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the Ranji Trophy final played between Mumbai and Madhya Pradesh at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday.
The Ranji Trophy final between Karnataka and Maharashtra gets underway on Wednesday. While Maharashtra's chances rest heavily on their batting, Karnataka will look to their bowlers to deliver the goods. Harish Kotian looks at the key players in the contest.
Young Karun Nair completed a hat-trick of first-class centuries in his debut season as Karnataka seized control of their Ranji Trophy semi-final against hosts Punjab, taking an 81-run first innings lead on the third day, in Mohali, on Monday. In reply to Punjab's first innings total of 270, the visitors ended the third day's play on 351 for 5, with Nair unbeaten on a career best score of 107 in company of comeback man Amit Verma, who struck an unbeaten 65.
Tamil Nadu edged out last edition's runners-up Maharashtra by virtue of first innings lead in a drawn encounter, to set up a summit clash with their southern rivals and reigning champions Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy cricket tournament.
Karnataka batter Devdutt Padikkal on Friday expressed his delight after smashing his third century of the ongoing Ranji Trophy season, saying he was always confident of making a strong back after going through a lean patch in the last season.
Karnataka skipper Mayank Agarwal on Wednesday said he is on the mend and gearing for comeback after day-long hospitalisation caused by a suspicious liquid he drank on-board a New Delhi-bound flight in Agartala.
Pujara hit his 49th first class hundred and shared an unconquered 201-run fourth-wicket stand with Sheldon Jackson (90) to help his side end the fourth day at 224 for three, just 55 runs away from the victory.
A round up of the fourth and final day's action of the Ranji Trophy matches on Sunday.
A summary of the first day's play in the Ranji Trophy matches at various venues across the country.
While the pace department needs some urgent solutions, the spin has a slightly different landscape.
Defending champions Mumbai and Karnataka took the upper hand in their Ranji Trophy matches on Sunday.
'It was a tough situation to be in. Emotionally, mentally. But yeah, it really taught me a lot of things about myself as a person and about my cricket. So, I am really grateful for those learnings.'
A round-up of Day 1 in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final matches.
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Sunday.
