Tilak Varma was in fine touch for Hampshire recently, smashing 100, 56, 47 and 112 in four innings for the English county side.
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.
Off-spinner Ramesh Powar polished off the Saurashtra tail with his four-wicket haul but it was Mumbai's 258-run first innings lead which propelled them to the Ranji Trophy final after the drawn semi-final in Chennai on Wednesday.
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.
Bengal's Anustup Majumdar stood between Saurashtra and Ranji Trophy with a defiant unbeaten 58 as the summit clash entered a tantalising fifth and final day in Rajkot on Thursday with the visitors needing 72 runs more to clinch the domestic title. Bengal ended the fourth day at 354 for six as Majumdar added 91 runs for the unbroken seventh wicket stand with Arnab Nandi (28 not out), who showed a lot of courage despite getting hit on the finger by Jaydev Unadkat.
Fast bowler Rituraj Singh returned a five-wicket haul as Rajasthan notched a 64-run victory over Haryana and entered their second consecutive Ranji Trophy final, at the Bansi Lal stadium, in Rohtak on Thursday.
Rajat should be part of India's white ball set-up: Coach Khurasiya
'I had prepared myself for this. I was getting dismissed (after half-centuries) so my plan was to play as much as I can with the straight bat and keep it simple after reaching fifty.'
The young left-arm spinner has taken 69 wickets so far this season, eclipsing the 68 by Bihar's Ashutosh Aman in 2018-19.
Dubey said he did not try anything different for his record wicket haul but credited the feat to getting a regular run in the premier domestic tournament.
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.
Malewar made the most of his recent form having notched up scores of 75 and 79 in the knockout games.
At stumps on the penultimate day, Karnataka skipper R Vinay Kumar (19) and Shreyas Gopal (1) were batting at the Eden Gardens.
Saurashtra captain and lead pacer Jaydev Unadkar led from the front with a seven-wicket haul as Gujarat were bowled out for 234 in the final session on day five.
Saurashtra batsmen survived nasty body blows from Umesh Yadav during their gallant fight against Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy final, which is now on even keel after third day.
Vidarbha batting mainstay Karun Nair put the ball in the selectors' court regarding a strong case for his India call-up after his ninth century of the season
Former winners Vidarbha will rely on their red-hot form to stake claim for a title they last won over five years ago, while first-time finalists Kerala will be driven by grit when the two contrasting teams clash in the summit showdown for the 90th Ranji Trophy, starting in Nagpur on Wednesday.
Tamil Nadu entered the Ranji Trophy final for the 11th time by virtue of the first innings lead over Mumbai in the semi-final that ended in a draw at the Wankhede stadium on Friday. The visitors, who led the home team by 202 runs in the first innings, piled the agony on their long-time nemesis by notching 331 for 8 before declaring the second innings in the pre-lunch session.
At stumps on the second day, Jaffer was batting on 61 off 120 balls and Akshay Wakhare was yet to open his account, as Vidabha trailed by 89 runs.
Kerala advanced to their maiden Ranji Trophy final after clinching a dramatic two-run first-innings lead over Gujarat in the semi-finals on Friday.
A resilient 72-run unbroken partnership for the eighth wicket between Jaymeet Patel and Siddharth Desai, following a commanding 148 from opener Priyank Panchal, kept Gujarat on the brink of a third Ranji Trophy final as they finished day four at 429/7 in response to Kerala's 457.
Vidarbha, led by Akshay Wadkar, captured their third Ranji Trophy title, defeating Kerala in the final.
After a stellar performance in domestic cricket, premier batter Karun Nair is confident of reclaiming his India cap.
Pacer Mukesh Kumar took six wickets to help Bengal beat Karnataka by 174 runs and enter the final of the Ranji Trophy for the first time in 13 years, in Kolkata, on Tuesday. Chasing 352 for victory, Karnataka were bowled out for 177 in their second innings with Mukesh taking 6-61 in 21 overs, while Ishan Porel and Akash Deep took two wickets each.
Harsh Dubey strikes twice as Kerala reach 219/5 at lunch on Day 3 in Ranji final against Vidarbha
Vidarbha took a commanding lead in the Ranji Trophy semifinal against Mumbai, reducing the defending champions to 83/3 in their second innings.
Karun Nair slammed his fourth century of the Ranji Trophy season to help Vidarbha tighten their grip over Kerala, in the final, in Nagpur on Saturday.
Anil Chaudhary, a veteran umpire, believes that Indian umpires are struggling due to overemphasis on theoretical knowledge and lack of practical experience.
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.
The sturdiness of the headgear saved Nizar's life after Gujarat's Arzan Nagwaswalla's full-blooded shot hit flush on the state emblem on his helmet in the Ranji Trophy semi-final in Ahmedabad on Friday.
Vidarbha won their third Ranji Trophy title after the final against Kerala finished in a draw in Nagpur on Sunday.
Musheer became the youngest Mumbai batter to score a century in a Ranji Trophy final, surpassing Tendulkar's record.
Gujarat batsmen have hogged the limelight for the entire season but their unheralded bowling line-up, sans India stars Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah, came to the party by dismissing defending champions Mumbai for a paltry 228 on the first day of the Ranji Trophy final, in Indore on Tuesday.
Parthiv Patel led from the front and got good support from Manprit Juneja to help Gujarat take a handy 63-run lead over defending champions Mumbai at stumps on Day 2 of the Ranji Trophy final in Indore on Wednesday.
Playing his first game for India in more than six months, Shreyas Iyer stroked a quickfire 59 from 36 balls, to put India on course for an easy victory.
Pandit guided an unheralded Vidarbha side to second successive titles with a mix of strategic acumen and old school discipline.
Wriddhiman Saha's century went in vain as Maharashtra crushed Bengal by a convincing margin of 10 wickets to storm into the final of the Ranji Trophy, in Indore.
The Ranji Trophy final of this season will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai from March 10 to 14, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) informed on Monday.
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).
Riding on unbeaten centuries from K L Rahul and Karun Nair, defending champions Karnataka took firm control by finishing day two on a comfortable 323 for five in the Ranji Trophy final in Mumbai.
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