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.
Saurashtra took firm control as India discard Jaydev Unadkat grabbed a five-wicket haul to skittle out Vidarbha for a paltry 151 on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy quarter-final in Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh. After Unadkat's 5/70 saw Subramanium Badrinath's side being bowled out in just 50.4 overs, Saurashtra batted cautiously to end the day at 70 for one in 30 overs. Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara looked in good touch as he remained unbeaten on 45 from 71 balls with nine boundaries to his credit. With the wicket easing out, Pujara looks set for a long haul and Saurashtra will be aiming to out-bat the opposition. Giving Pujara company is the other opener Sagar Jogiyani, who consumed 87 balls to remain undefeated on 19.
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Saturday.
Having gained the first innings lead, Saurashtra crawled to 327 for 8 in their second innings on day 4 of the Ranji Trophy Plate division final against Madhya Pradesh.
Good times are back for Saurashtra cricket. Once the cradle of Indian cricket with names like Vinoo Mankad, Amar Singh, L Ramji and S Nyalchand donning the India cap, Saurashtra is again enjoying it's time in the sun with as many as three cricketers finally getting recognition from Indian selectors.
Shivam Dube continued his recent streak of form with a counter-attacking fifty that proved to be the cornerstone of Mumbai's excellent 330 for six against Bengal
After taking a healthy first innings lead of 207 runs, Saurashtra reduced Rajasthan to 99 for five.
Having beaten Saurashtra in the league stage, Punjab are aiming for an encore when the two sides square off in the Ranji Trophy semi-finals from Wednesday, at the SCA stadium, in Khandheri, Rajkot. Punjab captain Harbhajan Singh is hoping his side continues playing good cricket.
After a commanding batting display, Mumbai put up an impressive bowling performance to wrest control over Saurashtra in their Ranji Trophy Group A match in Rajkot on Monday.
A stylish unbeaten 141 by skipper Jaydev Shah helped Saurashtra reach 363 for five at stumps on the third day of their match against J & K.
Riding on a splendid bowling performance led by off-spinner Vishal Joshi, Saurashtra on Sunday thrashed Punjab by 229 runs to enter the Ranji Trophy final for the first time in 75 years.
Saurashtra bowlers produced a sterling performance to put them in a commanding position in their Group 'A' Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh in Rajkot on Sunday.
A young but mighty Mumbai have history and form firmly on their side when they chase their 41st Ranji Trophy title by locking horns with Saurashtra, who are taking a rare shot at domestic cricket's biggest prize, in the summit showdown beginning in Pune from Wednesday. While Mumbai will be appearing in their 45th final of the top domestic tournament, it is only the second time that Saurashtra are in the title clash. Incidentally, it was Mumbai who put paid to Saurashtra's hopes of a maiden triumph by wrapping the final in three days in 2012-13. That was the only time Saurashtra came close to the title. Mumbai won that match by an innings and 125 runs for their 40th trophy. Three seasons later, the scene remains more or less the same and it will take a huge effort from Saurashtra to upset a side which has almost won more titles than the rest of India combined. For the record, since 1990-91, Mumbai haven't lost any of the 10 finals they have played. Mumbai have at least five of those who played in the earlier final in the squad -- Aditya Tare, Abhishek Nayar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Shardul Thakur and Vishal Dabholkar.
Mumbai will play Tamil Nadu at home while Vidarbha will host Madhya Pradesh in Nagpur in the Ranji Trophy semifinals, starting from Saturday.
Despite the need for an outright win, Mumbai settled for a draw in their Group A match against Saurashtra when they restricted the hosts to 300 and then decided to bat again instead of imposing follow-on, in Rajkot on Tuesday.
Roundup of Ranji Trophy matched played on Sunday
England Cricket Board (ECB) on Wednesday named the playing eleven for the third Test match against India in Rajkot, with pacer Mark Wood replacing Shoaib Bashir in the playing squad.
Saurashtra whipped hosts Maharashtra by eight wickets with more than a day to spare in their Ranji Trophy tie.
A fine bowling performance by RV Dhruv (four for 68)enabled Saurashtra outplay Rajasthan and post a 200-run win in their Ranji Super League match
Saurashtra were 232 for 5 in reply to Himachal Pradesh's first innings score of 214 at close on day 2 of the Plate Ranji Trophy match.
Rising batsman Cheteshwar Pujara cracked a superb unbeaten century to steer Saurashtra into the Ranji Trophy semi-finals with a five-wicket victory over Karnataka on the fourth and final day of the quarter-final tie in Mumbai on Monday. Chasing a stiff target of 325 set by their rivals, Saurashtra romped home by making 327 for five in the last session of play at the Brabourne Stadium.
Mohit Avasthi ran through the Bengal batting lineup, grabbing seven wickets for 52 runs as Mumbai stormed to an innings and four-run win with a bonus point in their Ranji Trophy Group B match in Kolkata on Sunday.
Ravindra Jadeja's recovery from the hamstring injury seems to be on the right track.
Vidarbha opener Atharva Taide struck his third first-class century and his second of the ongoing Ranji Trophy season
Maharashtra bundled out the hosts for 177 in 62.3 overs on the opening day of their four-day Plate `B' Ranji match in Rajkot
The left-arm paceman, who has played two T20Is and one ODI for India, announced his engagement to Saurashtra women's cricketer Meghna Jambucha.
Mumbai appeared to be on course to their 38th Ranji Trophy title as Saurashtra failed to live up to their promise of making a match of their rivals and were trailing by 390 runs in their first innings on the third and penultimate day of their semi-final match in Chennai on Tuesday.
Mumbai defeated Saurashtra by five wickets in the West Zone Vijay Hazare trophy tie on Sunday, on the back of Sushanth Marathe's 88 coupled with his 114-run partnership for second wicket with Iqbal Abdullah (55).
It took 84 long years for Test cricket to come to the land of Ranjitsinhji.
Sitanshu Kotak and Cheteshwar Pujara hit unbeaten half centuries to put Saurashtra on top against holders Mumbai on the first day of the four-day Ranji Trophy Super League Group A tie in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Saurashtra gained three points by virtue of their 110-run first innings lead over hosts Himachal as their four-day Ranji Trophy Super League Group A match ended in a tame draw in Dharamsala on Tuesday.
Ambuja Cements' announcement that it would acquire Hyderabad-based Penna Cement Industries could be the Adani Group company's first step for wider inorganic expansion, according to analysts.
Juniors Virendra Vegda and Vishal Vasoya will field for Team India in the event of an emergency during the second ODI against Sri Lanka.
They scored 284 for 3 against Delhi on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy match.
Backed by three decades of water conservation measures, semi-arid Saurashtra is driving agricultural growth in the state. Will it be able to sustain it?
A total of 89 seats -- out of 182 -- spanning the Saurashtra and south Gujarat regions, are up for grabs in the first phase with 977 candidates in the fray, including Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.
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.
Sheldon Jackson's 83 and contributions from Shitanshu Kotak and Arpit Vasavada helped Saurashtra make 272 for five on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy quarter-final match against Karnataka.
Saurashtra clinched their maiden Ranji Trophy Plate division title after beating Rajasthan by an innings and 34 runs in the final.
Mayank Agarwal played a captain's knock of 109, as his side took a 64-run lead on Day 2
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances