A round-up of day three action from the Ranji Trophy Super League games across the country on Friday.
All-rounder Abhishek Nayar cracked an unbeaten 111 after coming into the Mumbai side following an injury lay-off to help the holders recover from a difficult pre-lunch period on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy semifinal against Delhi in Mumbai on Sunday.
Delhi Capitals' bowling coach Munaf Patel emphasises the importance of Mitchell Starc joining the squad, highlighting his experience and skill as crucial for their IPL 2026 campaign.
Sahil Kukreja (87) and Ajinkya Rahane (89) were on course for individual centuries as reigning champions Mumbai posted 198 for 1 against Hyderabad on Day 2 of their Ranji Trophy Super League match in Hyderabad. Mumbai still trail by 68 runs, but with nine-wickets in hand.
Iqbal Abdullah and Dhawal Kulkarni shared six wickets as Mumbai shot out Railways for a scrimpy 187 on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Super League Group A match, in Delhi, on Tuesday.
A summary of Wednesday's play in the Ranji Trophy Super League matches.
Batting stalwart Cheteshwar Pujara, ignored for the two-Test series against South Africa, cracked an unbeaten century as defending champions Saurashtra made a mockery of the Jharkhand bowling attack.
The event at the MCA Sharad Pawar Indoor Cricket Academy, BKC will be attended by Maharashtra governor C P Radhakrishnan and state minister Ashish Shelar, who will be the chief guest.
Mumbai won the Ranji Trophy for the 39th time when they beat Karnataka by six runs in the final in Mysore on Thursday. Chasing 338 victory on the fourth day of the match, hosts Karnataka, who resumed the day on 135 for 3, folded for 331, despite a dogged 144 from Manish Pandey.
Abhishek Nayar's 156 coupled with a sedate 69 by Iqbal Abdulla to give holders Mumbai firm control of their Ranji Trophy semi-final match against long-time rivals Delhi on the second day in Mumbai.
Defending champions Mumbai advanced to the semi-final of the Ranji Trophy by virtue of their first innings lead after their quarterfinal match against Haryana ended in a draw at the Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium in Rohtak on Sunday.
Off-spinner Romesh Powar scalped four wickets as defending champions Mumbai consolidated their position with a 355-run lead against Haryana on the third day of the Ranji Trophy quarter-final in Rohtak on Saturday.
Skipper Irfan Pathan led from the front with a four-wicket haul as Baroda dismissed Maharashtra for 207 in their second innings on the third day of their Ranji Trophy Super League Group B match in Pune on Thursday. Chasing a paltry 101 for victory, Baroda were 2 for 1 at the draw of stumps.
Spinner Harmeet Singh scalped three wickets for 25 runs as Mumbai sniffed victory against Railways in their Ranji Trophy Super League Group A match on Thursday. After skittling out the hosts for 187, Mumbai rode on Rohit Sharma's 101 to post 284 in the first innings and then left Railways reeling at 174 for 7 at the end of the day.
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.
M P Arjun emerged the wrecker-in-chief after a six-wicket haul as Hyderabad bowled out hosts Punjab for a modest 221 on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Super League Group A Match in Mohali on Tuesday.
A summary of the third day's play in the Ranji Trophy Super League matches.
The technical committee meeting will be followed by a meeting of Tours and Fixtures Committee, which will decide on the dates of India's limited overs home series against Australia in October and November.
Mumbai's overwhelming innings and 108-run victory over Hyderabad helped the 37-time winners shoot past fellow-West Zoners Saurashtra and Gujarat and go top of the table with 21 points to their credit. With three teams each from Group 'A' and 'B' qualifying for the quarter-final rounds, Gujarat and Saurashtra 18 points each -- are all set to join Mumbai unless there's a dramatic change in fortunes.
Devdutt Padikkal credits his captaincy experience with Karnataka for enhancing his game awareness and contributing to his development as a T20 batter. He also praised Virat Kohli's intensity and the supportive environment at Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
This year, Rajat led RCB to their maiden IPL title in 18 years and recently was crucial to the Central Zone's Duleep Trophy triumph for the first time since 2014-15.
Underdogs Nagaland showed they are made of sterner stuff as their batters fought tooth and nail all day to score 365/5 and frustrate Tamil Nadu who would be fancying their chances of enforcing a follow-on after a mammoth 512-run first-innings total in a Ranji Trophy Group A match in Bengaluru on Monday.
Sarfaraz Khan has expanded his horizon as he now aims to play white-ball cricket for India.
Mumbai crushed Uttar Pradesh by 243 runs to clinch the Ranji Trophy for the 38th time at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal, Hyderabad on Friday. Chasing a mammoth 525 for victory, UP were bowled for 281 in their second innings with Mumbai pacer Dhawal Kulkarni claiming five for 76.
Jammu and Kashmir are in sight of a historic victory over Delhi in Ranji Trophy as they require 124 runs on the final day which promises to produce an engaging day of cricket, considering a crumbling Feroz Shah Kotla track where finger spinners are ruling the roost.
Rajneesh Gupta gives us a list of noteworthy statistics from first-class and Ranji Trophy
Lucknow Super Giants' spin bowling coach Carl Crowe reveals Mohammed Shami's success against Sunrisers Hyderabad was due to a new delivery developed with bowling coach Bharat Arun. Shami's willingness to learn and Rishabh Pant's leadership are also highlighted.
Jammu and Kashmir's Auqib Nabi reveals Dale Steyn's influence on his fast bowling career and his aspirations to play for India, while Irfan Pathan highlights Nabi's unique bowling skills.
Maharashtra's Swapnil Gugale slammed a triple century while Ankit Bawane hit a double hundred as the duo registered the highest-partnership in the history of the Ranji Trophy, against Delhi, in the Ranji Trophy Group B match at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, on Friday.
The Anil Kumble-led committee has suggested the number of overs to be increased from 90 to 95 per day in the four and five-day games of the Ranji Trophy and also do away with the single point for salvaging a draw after conceding a lead.
Favourites Karnataka deservedly won their seventh Ranji Trophy title after beating a spirited Maharashtra side by seven wickets on the fifth and concluding day of the final match in Hyderabad.
Darren Sammy: 'We are most people's second favourite team, but we're playing against their favourite.'
A round-up of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Monday
Security arrangements would be beefed up in and around the capital's Arun Jaitley Stadium for the final day of the Ranji Trophy Group D match between Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir following a high-intensity blast near the Red Fort, which is just kilometres away from the stadium in New Delhi.
Vidarbha's dominant title run in the Vijay Hazare Trophy was a result of the players' belief in each other which helped them overcome challenging situations successfully, reckoned head coach Usman Ghani.
Bhui faced 313 balls during his unbeaten century and struck 15 boundaries and four sixes. A round-up of Day 3 of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Thursday.
Following India's emphatic eight-wicket victory over New Zealand in the third T20I, leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi said he focused on bowling in the right areas and worked extensively on his lengths after enduring a difficult Indian Premier League (IPL) season last year. Bishnoi delivered an impressive spell of 2/18 in four overs, playing a key role in restricting New Zealand to 153/9 in 20 overs. His disciplined bowling effort laid the foundation for India's dominant win in Guwahati. Speaking during the post-match press conference, Bishnoi said he worked closely with his coaches at home in Jodhpur after being left out of the Indian T20I side. The leg-spinner added that playing matches in the Vijay Hazare, Syed Mushtaq and Ranji Trophy tournaments has helped him to make a comeback. "It's always difficult when you are away from the side. You feel like you should be there, but you aren't. I had time to work on my own bowling. I worked a lot. I worked with my coaches at home in Jodhpur. Then I played domestic matches again. I played a few matches in the Vijay Hazare, Syed Mushtaq and Ranji Trophy tournaments. All those things helped me a lot to come back," Bishnoi said. The 24-year-old further stated that he consciously tried to bowl in the right areas and adapt his rhythm according to match conditions. "I was trying to bowl in the right areas. It depends on my rhythm on the given day. I have worked on my lengths. I didn't have a good IPL last season. I was a bit nervous and excited," he added. On Abhishek Sharma's blistering batting performance, Bishnoi said, "The way Abhishek is batting, India needs this. He practices a lot. Hope he continues this form for a long time." Sharma made an outstanding unbeaten 68 runs in just 20 balls, including seven fours and five sixes at a strike rate of 340. Abhishek Sharma's fifty, paired with Suryakumar Yadav's blistering unbeaten 57 off 26 balls, propelled India to a convincing eight-wicket win, chasing down 154 runs in just 10 overs. With this victory, India also took the five-match T20I series, winning all three T20Is.
'The IPL provides a different ladder in terms of recognition.' 'If you do well, you will obviously get noticed and it enhances your selection into white-ball formats.'
Opener Hemal Watekar struck a brilliant 137 as Andhra Pradesh recovered from a disastrous start to score 294 for six at close in their Ranji Trophy match against Punjab on Saturday.
Aamir Khan's upcoming film, aims to shed light on the 1952-1953 India-Pakistan series, which occurred just five years after Partition and marked Pakistan's first official Test series.
