India is facing form concerns and selection dilemmas as they enter the final phase of their Champions Trophy preparations.
The efforts of Aryan Juyal (76) and Karan Sharma (67) stood out as Uttar Pradesh held nerves to beat 41-times champions and hosts Mumbai by two wickets in a Ranji Trophy match on Monday.
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.
Mumbai showed why they are miles ahead of other domestic outfits as they made short work of Services en route their 44th appearance in the Ranji Trophy final since the tournament's inception.
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.
Shami last played for India in the 2023 World Cup final in Ahmedabad after which he was sidelined because of an ankle injury which needed surgery.
Watching a young Sachin Tendulkar excelling against spinners Arshad Ayub and Venkatapathy Raju on a rank-turner in a Ranji Trophy match convinced him about the bright future of his junior teammate, recalled former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar.
Parth Bhut capped off a dream game with a five-wicket haul after a match-turning century and half-century as Saurashtra won a memorable Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Punjab by 71 runs.
K L Rahul's indifferent form could throw Cheteshwar Pujara a lifeline for the tour of Australia, where he enjoys a great record.
It was amazing to see how he used to hoodwink batsmen with subtle changes in flight, loop and deliver his doomsday ball -- the dangerous armer.
Padmakar Shivalkar was distinctly unlucky that his best days in the 1970s coincided with that of Bishan Singh Bedi's prime.
They beat Madhya Pradesh by virtue of the first innings lead after the five-day semi-final ended in a draw.
'About Gautam bhai, I feel he has got immense knowledge about how the game is played. He has won two titles previously with KKR, and his strategies have been spot-on in terms of what execution we have to make against the opposition.'
Madhya Pradesh created history, beating favourites Mumbai by six wickets to win their maiden Ranji Trophy crown, at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, on Sunday.
Pandit guided an unheralded Vidarbha side to second successive titles with a mix of strategic acumen and old school discipline.
Shah in his letter spoke about how difficult it was to plan out the domestic calendar for the season in the post COVID world.
It was batters who mostly lead their teams to victories and some into the knock-outs. While Mumbai trailblazer Sarfaraz Khan continues to find the big runs, Baba Indrajith's consistency wasn't enough for Tamil Nadu to make even the top two in Group H.
Images from the fourth T20 International between India and England in Pune on Friday.
Mumbai clinched their 15th Irani Trophy title, ending a 27-year wait with a commanding performance that reaffirmed their status as a powerhouse in Indian cricket.
Gavaskar didn't mince words while pointing out the repeated failures of the team's batters, who failed to cross the 200 mark six out of nine times during the series.
As per a revised schedule, the Elite division semi-finals will be played from January 23-27 and the final from February 2-6.
The result was a foregone conclusion; the fifth day only a formality. Mumbai sealed a berth in the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy by virtue of the first innings lead against Baroda at the Wankhede stadium on Thursday.
Less than a week after he announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, Bengal skipper Manoj Tiwary on Tuesday said he has decided to reverse his decision.
A summary of Ranji matches played on Tuesday.
Rohit can be seen working extensively on his batting, unleashing his signature shots including the trademark pull shots, the drives through the off-side and the straight lofted shots among others.
As an Indian captain, he will enjoy his little piece of history and no one can take that away from him.
The Mumbai batter lit the Chinnaswamy stadium with his brilliant batting.
The opening round of Ranji Trophy matches will begin from February 17 following a five-day quarantine and the squad size, including support staff, has been capped at 30.
Bengal pacer Akash Deep bowled a game-changing spell on Friday
A summary of Friday's action in the Ranji Trophy matches across the country.
Veteran wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha on Thursday made it official to the Cricket Association of Bengal that he is 'not willing' to play for the state team in the upcoming Ranji Trophy knockout games.
Mohammed Shami is set to compete in the last two Tests of the ongoing series against Australia with his playing kit already headed Down Under
A summary of Ranji Trophy matches played on Thursday.
This will be Tamil Nadu's first appearance in a Ranji Trophy final, since 2003-04, when they lost to Mumbai on the basis of first-innings lead in Chennai.
Andhra skipper Hanuma Vihari batted left-handed and defied speedster Avesh Khan to add 26 runs for the 10th wicket and help his team reach 379 against Madhya Pradesh on the second day of the Ranji Trophy quarter-final.
A round-up of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Friday.
'Shami has been India's best bowler for a while. He may not get the amount of wickets Jasprit Bumrah gets, but he's the full package and is more consistent than the rest.'
Ajinkya Rahane feels that the most memorable thing for him about their record-extending Ranji Trophy triumph is everyone played as a team.
Himachal Pradesh beat Railways by seven wickets in the Ranji Trophy Plate division semi-finals to qualify for next season's Super League.
A round-up of Ranji semi-finals played on Tuesday
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