Delhi short fall of knockouts, secure an innings win against Railways; Kohli's return concludes with single-digit score
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.
This will be Virat Kohli's first Ranji Trophy match in 12 years.
Thousands of fans poured in from as early as 5 am to witness Virat Kohli's long-awaited return to the Ranji Trophy.
Senior cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan were included in the Mumbai squad to play against Railways in the Ranji Trophy league opener at the Wankhede Stadium from November 2-5.
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.
As per a revised schedule, the Elite division semi-finals will be played from January 23-27 and the final from February 2-6.
'In cricket and in life, the graph always goes up and down and it's never going to always go up. So it's a just a matter of time that I middle those balls and get those big runs again. But right now, I want to ensure that my team is doing fine and is enjoying its game.'
Karnataka sealed a berth in the final the Ranji Trophy after the fifth and last day of their semi-final against Punjab was washed out, in Mohali, on Wednesday. They entered the final by the virtue of the first innings lead, and will take on Maharashtra at Hyderabad from January 29.
Mumbai made it to their first Ranji Trophy final in three seasons even though they were denied an outright victory after fighting centuries from Madhya Pradesh wicketkeeper-batsman Naman Ojha and Harpreet Singh on Day5 of the semi-final in Cuttack, on Wednesday.
A summary of the first day's play in the Ranji Trophy matches at various venues across the country.
"We will be using the technology which is available to us. We are looking at a very limited use of the DRS. We don't have snickometer and ball tracking. We have red zone and we have spin vision and we will try and give whatever is available to umpires for them to decide," said general manager of cricket Saba Karim.
A decision on Ranji Trophy was expected to be taken in the meeting on Sunday but the members could not find a consensus, despite BCCI president Sourav Ganguly batting firmly for the prestigious first-class tournament.
The Kasaragod Municipal Stadium Road will now be known as Sunil Gavaskar Municipal Stadium Road.
Also the temperament of playing 373 balls (62.1 overs out of 116 overs) has made him stand out along with how he forged partnership with a tailender (Navdeep Saini).
Defending champions Mumbai got their Ranji Trophy campaign back on track with an emphatic nine-wicket win over Maharashtra in their second group A league game in Mumbai on Monday, offsetting the heavy loss to Baroda in the opening game.
Wadkar said he was also keeping an eye on Mumbai leader Ajinkya Rahane to see if he was frustrated with Vidarbha's fightback. In return, the 29-year-old got nothing but only leadership lessons from Rahane.
'He is +10 in the field, also bowls well and bats in pressure situations as well.'
Kohli hit a four just before H Sangwan sent his stumps cartwheeling.
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.
The preference would be for a fast bowler 'who still has seven to eight years of cricket left in him rather than someone who'll be turning 35 soon.'
Star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has made a full recovery from his knee injury and is set to play in Saurashtra's final Ranji Trophy match, which begins on January 24, to prove his match fitness.
Comeback man Dhawal Kulkarni wreaked havoc with the new ball to hand Mumbai the initial edge in their quest for 41st Ranji Trophy title by reducing Saurashtra to 192 for eight in the first innings on the opening day of the summit clash, in Pune on Wednesday. Back in the side after missing the semifinal due to a groin strain, Kulkarni utilised the green track on offer to perfection after Mumbai skipper Aditya Tare won the toss and invited Saurashtra to bat. -Scorecard Kulkarni was spot on with his line and length, and managed to cut through Saurashtra top-order with figures of four for 30, which included the important wickets of opener Avi Barot, Cheteshwar Pujara, Arpit Vasavada and skipper Jaydev Shah. Kulkarni was ably supported by his new ball partner Shardul Thakur (2/59), Abhishek Nayar (1/42) and Balwinder Sandhu (1/41). Kulkarni, in particular, produced an impressive opening spell as Mumbai reduced Saurashtra to 108 for seven at one stage. Had it not been for Arpit Vasavada and debutant Prerak Mankad, it could have been an embarrassing scorecard for Saurashtra at the end of day's play during which they played 84.4 overs.
Jammu and Kashmir skipper Parveez Rasool continued his brilliant all-round performance with a five-wicket haul as their Ranji Trophy quarter-final match seemed headed for an exciting finish with Punjab leaving them with a target of 324 for a historic victory in Vadodara.
Ajinkya Rahane feels that the most memorable thing for him about their record-extending Ranji Trophy triumph is everyone played as a team.
Shubman Gill's form in the series is a concern for India as he has now gone six games without a half-century.
Former captain Sourav Ganguly wants the BCCI to immediately send Mohammed Shami to join the Indian team in Australia, even if he is unable to play in the Perth Test.
Heavyweight Cheteshwar Pujara was down with fever as Bengal gained the upperhand against a scratchy Saurashtra on an attritional opening day's play in the Ranji Trophy final, in Rajkot, on Monday. Avi Barot and Vishvaraj Jadeja struck gritty half-centuries before Bengal pacer Akash Deep struck late in the final session to leave Saurashtra at 206 for five at stumps on Day 1.
Defending champions Rajasthan were in a commanding position against hosts Tamil Nadu, at the end of the third day's play of the Ranji Trophy final, in Chennai on Saturday.
Karun Nair's unconquered 310 put Karnataka in the driver's seat in the Ranji Trophy final against Tamil Nadu on Tuesday. The defending champions ended Day 3 of the match with a mammoth 618 for 7, having added 295 runs to their overnight score, to extend their first innings lead to an imposing 484 runs at the Wankhede stadium, in Mumbai.
Middle-order batsman Sangram Atitkar hammered a listless Bengal attack into submission with a brilliant 168 as Maharashtra took a mammoth first innings lead to set sights on an innings victory by stumps on the second day of Ranji Trophy semi-final in Indore.
Legendary Sunil Gavaskar on Saturday said he was at a loss for words and overwhelmed after his statue was unveiled during the inauguration of the MCA Sharad Pawar Cricket Museum at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Venkatesh Prasad to contest for KSCA president's post, Kumble, Srinath back ex-India pacer's panel
Shardul Thakur's hat-trick and unbeaten half-centuries from skipper Ajinkya Rahane and Siddhesh Lad helped Mumbai build a 127-run lead against Meghalaya/
Mumbai off to flourishing start in SMAT, beat Railways by 7 wickets
Madhya Pradesh humbled domestic powerhouse Mumbai by six wickets in a one-sided final to win their maiden Ranji Trophy crown, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru on Sunday. It was an achievement of sorts for coach Chandrakant Pandit, who exorcised the ghosts of losing one at the same venue 23 summers ago. It was a record sixth national title for Pandit as a coach.
Yash Dhull smashed his way to 92 but Vidarbha bowling unit proved too good for Rest of India as they comfortably won the Irani Cup by 93 runs in Nagpur on Sunday.
The Mumbai batter lit the Chinnaswamy stadium with his brilliant batting.
Kolkata Knight Riders may miss out on the services of their captain in the first few matches of the Indian Premier League.
Jemimah's success is carved not just from talent and hard work, but from dreams, faith, and an unshakable spirit.
