It's a mismatch of sorts. One team is attempting to win its 40th title, the other its first! Yet, the final of the Ranji Trophy between Mumbai and Saurashtra, starting Saturday at the Wankhede stadium, promises a lot more.
A round-up of Ranji Trophy matches played on Saturday.
The BCCI's 2015-16 domestic calendar, which, in a media statement, boasts that it will host 900 matches in the span of six months, starting October 1, has discarded the inter-zonal competition which was started in 1961-62. The tournament was conducted to perpetuate the memory of K S Duleepsinhji, nephew of K S Ranjitsinhji in whose memory the national cricket championship is played.
Left-arm spinners Praveen Gupta and Ali Murtaza shared seven wickets between them to help Uttar Pradesh script a massive 195-run victory over Tamil Nadu on the final day of their Ranji Trophy Group B match in Chennai.
Round up of the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals matches played on Saturday.
Mumbai will face Rajasthan in the quarter-finals of the Ranji Trophy after Delhi finished the last day's play at 242 for six, needing an improbable 560 to win in less than a day.
Despite senior batsman Mithun Manhas and all-rounder Rajat Bhatia scoring centuries, Delhi were unable to surpass Baroda's first innings total of 561 as the third round Ranji Trophy match ended in a barren draw and both teams getting a point each. Delhi ended the final day's play at 505 for 6 at the end of the mandatory overs, with Bhatia remaining unbeaten on 133.
Half-centuries from Ankit Bawne and Chirag Khurana frustrated Karnataka and helped Maharashtra finish the opening day on a respectable 272 for five in the Ranji Trophy final in Hyderabad.
Sachin Tendulkar, who recently retired from One-Day Internationals, will not play in Mumbai's last Ranji Trophy league game against Gujarat but has made himself available for the knockout stage if the team reaches the quarter-finals.
Skipper Mayank Agarwal scored an unbeaten century as he rescued Karnataka from a poor start
'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.'
However, Rohit maintains that he hasn't taken a call on his T20 future.
A summary of Wednesday's play in Ranji Trophy matches across the country.
The 41-time Ranji Trophy winners will be playing their 500th encounter in the National championship against Baroda at the Wankhede Stadium to become first among the equals.
Sachin Tendulkar is opposed to the use of neutral venues for the knockout stages of the Ranji Trophy after a rare appearance in the tournament by the leading batsman drew a very small crowd. Playing his first national championship game for Mumbai in nearly two years, Tendulkar amassed 122 runs on Monday as part of a 232-run partnership with former India opener Wasim Jaffer in the ongoing semi-final against Saurashtra.
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Wednesday
The likes of Robin UthaManoj Tiwaryppa, Manoj Tiwary and Kedar Jadhav will get another chance to impress the selectors and push their case for a comeback to international cricket when Ranji Trophy champions Karnataka clash against Rest of India lock in a five-day Irani Trophy match, in Bangalore, starting on Tuesday.
A round-up of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Saturday
They beat Services by 306 runs on the last day of the Plate Division final.
Round-up of the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals match played on Sunday.
Wriddhiman Saha is confident that Bengal's unheralded bunch of bowlers have seen enough of Cheteshwar Pujara on television to plot his dismissal when they take on Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy final, starting in Rajkot on Monday.
A summary of the final day's play in the Ranji Trophy matches across the country.
Chandrakant Pandit is ready to mould himself within permissible limits when he dons the hat of Kolkata Knight Riders' head coach in IPL 2023.
Following the series win, BCCI secretary Jay Shah tweeted: 'A wonderful end to this series and kudos to our boys for sealing it 3-1!'
Tilak Varma, Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians!
Out-of-favour India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has been handed a golden opportunity to get back into the reckoning after being named captain of Rest of India for the Irani Cup match against Ranji Trophy champions Karnataka, in Bangalore, from February 9 to 13. Also included in the Rest of India team is Gautam Gambhir, who is also keen to make a comeback to the Indian team. However, his Delhi team mate Virender Sehwag failed to make the cut after a poor run in the Ranji Trophy.
Hosts Assam will be aiming for an innings victory against Tripura going into the final day of their Ranji Trophy group league match in Guwahati.
Sheldon Jackson scored a sparkling century to enable Saurashtra post 477 in their first innings against Punjab on the second day of the Ranji Trophy semi-final, in Rajkot, on Thursday.
Sachin Tendulkar will be the centre of attraction as 39-time champions Mumbai take on Services in the Ranji Trophy semi-final, at the Palam Airforce ground on Wednesday. The Ajit Agarkar-led side are overwhelming favourites, but the institutional side should not be counted out after their five-wicket victory over Uttar Pradesh.
India's chief coach Anil Kumble has advised Test specialist Wriddhiman Saha to take complete rest for two weeks which will mean that the wicket-keeper batsman will be missing Bengal's first two Ranji Trophy games against Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Wriddhiman, who will be 32 in less than a fortnight had kept wickets for more than 452 overs during the three Test matches against New Zealand. Add to it, two knocks of 50 plus in pressure situation at the Eden Gardens to win the Man of the Match award.
'At least one year on the job is absolutely important to review someone's performance.'
Mumbai captain Ajit Agarkar was ruled out of the Irani Trophy match against Rest of India with an injury, a MCA official said on Monday.
A round-up of the second day's action of the four Ranji Trophy quarter-finals being played across the country.
It proved to be a good toss to lose for Saurashtra, who succeeded in removing the most impactful Vidarbha batsmen -- Jaffer (23) and captain Faiz Fazal (16) -- cheaply.
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.
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.
Skipper Aakash Chopra led from front with a brilliant 95 to help Delhi beat Services by six wickets and book a berth in the quarterfinals of the Ranji Trophy tournament in Una on Monday.
As many as four world-class match-winners are expected to bid adieu to the game one by one in the next couple of years and Gautam Gambhir is in an unenviable position as head coach.
A round-up of all the Ranji Trophy matches played on Friday.
