HIGHLIGHTS
Tamil Nadu vs Karnataka: TN perishes, 27 runs short of the target. What a fitting climax to Round 1 of #RanjiTrophy 2019-20!
Tamil Nadu vs Karnataka: Tamil Nadu's M Siddharth has been sent back. Karnataka inching closer towards a victory, one would say? 27 runs, 6 balls, 1 wicket - Which way will this go?
Tamil Nadu vs Karnataka: Tamil Nadu requires 34 runs in 28 balls with two wickets in hand. We couldn't have asked for a more thrilling conclusion to Round 1.
Tamil Nadu vs Karnataka: K. Gowtham ends R. Sai Kishore's resistance and Karnataka have their eighth wicket. TN 121/8
Tamil Nadu vs Karnataka: Murugan Ashwin and R Sai Kishore are trying their best to keep Karnataka at bay. They need to bat at least another hour or so to avoid a loss. Karnataka meanwhile, are hunting in packs and are searching for the breakthrough. TN 114/7 needs another 67 runs to win.
Tamil Nadu vs Karnataka: Seven down and Karnataka is slowly knocking Tamil Nadu out of the contest. TN 100/7 in chase of 181
Tamil Nadu vs Karnataka: Six down and K. Gowtham has taken a five-wicket haul. He removes skipper Vijay Shankar and Tamil Nadu needs another 85 runs to win. TN 96/6
Tamil Nadu vs Karnataka: TN Five Down! K. Gowtham scalps the wicket of TN skipper Vijay Shankar. N. Jagadeeshan is the new man at the crease. Tamil Nadu needs 87 runs to win.
There might be a result on the horizon at Trivandrum, says A. Vinod: Delhi at 383/4 has overcome the deficit that it had before being asked to follow on. With just 20 overs remaining in the day, a result other than a draw looks unlikely.
Ricky Bhui jogs to reach his century as the teams agree for a drawn match at Mulapadu. Him and K.S. Bharath added 188 runs for the fourth wicket which proved to be a game-changing partnership for the home side.
Andhra vs Vidarbha: K.S. Bharat exults as he reaches his 100 in 204 balls with a boundary down deep-point. It has been a match-saving innings from the Andhra batsman.
After multiple interruptions due to bad light, Uttar Pradesh and Railways agree for a drawn match at the Victoria Park Stadium in Meerut.
Andhra vs Vidarbha: Ricky Bhui (91 not out) and S.K. Bharat (85 not out) stand firm at tea as they add 162 runs for the fourth wicket. The pair has clearly pulled things back for Andhra against the holder. At Tea - Andhra 288/3, leads by 58 runs.
Tamil Nadu vs Karnataka: Dinesh Karthik (14 not out) and Vijay Shankar (5 not out) show patience in their effort to repair the collapse as the teams take a tea break. At Tea - Tamil Nadu 84/4, needs 94 runs to win.
A. Vinod from a Trivandrum with a breakthrough: Kerala gets the prized wicket of Nitish Rana! The second centurion in the Delhi 2nd innings, is finally out for a well made 114, bowled by Jalaj Saxena. The visitor is 363/4 and requires only 20 runs to avoid an innings defeat.
Kerala vs Delhi: Nitish Rana (113 not out, 162b) and Jonty Sidhu (11 not out, 63b) stretch Delhi's lead to 22 runs. Kerala skipper Sachin Baby has tried eight bowlers so far including bowling 9 overs himself, but was unable to find a way past Rana's defence.
Uttar Pradesh vs Railways: The final day is interrupted once again as the low visibility forces the players off the field. Uttar Pradesh 62/2, needs 287 runs to win.
Tamil Nadu vs Karnataka: WICKET! Abhinav Mukund falls for 42 (76b) in K. Gowtham's bowling. Tamil Nadu in a spot of bother as captain Vijay Shankar joins his Dinesh Karthik in the middle. Tamil Nadu 72/4; needs 109 runs to win.
Uttar Pradesh vs Railways: After a late start to the final day, UP begins chase of 349 well. Almas Shaukat (33 not out) and Madhav Kaushik (9 not out) at the crease. Uttar Pradesh needs 294 to win.
V.V. Subrahmanyam tells us about conclusion of the match at Hyderabad: Gujarat scores an emphatic eight-wicket win over Hyderabad before tea on the final day of the Ranji Trophy in Hyderabad with Bhargav Merai scoring an unbeaten 69 off 99 balls. Priyank Panchal slammed a stroke-filled 90 off 80 balls as Gujarat chases the target in 36.4 overs.
Kerala vs Delhi : Nitish Rana (80 not out 123b) anchors the innings after the centurion Kunal Chandela falls on 125 (219b; 11x4, 1x6) in Sandeep Warrier's bowling. Delhi 323/3, trials by 60 runs.
Andhra vs Vidarbha: Andhra chugging on nicely with Ricky Bhui (61 not out 163b) and K.S. Bharath (53 not out 148b) comfortable in the middle. After surviving the morning session, the pair gets to scoring boundaries at will post lunch. Andhra 239/3; leads by 9 runs.
We have an update from Hyderabad from V.V. Subrahmanyam: Priyank Panchal out for 90, trying to sweep left arm spinner Mehdi Hassan, caughtt at slip. Gujarat 144 for two chasing 187.
- Tamil Nadu vs Karnataka: Krishnappa Gowtham removes R Ashwin after getting Baba Aparajith to leave Tamil Nadu three down. Dinesh Karthik joins Abhinav Mukund. TN 54/3 in 14.1 overs.
- We have an update from Hyderabad from V.V. Subrahmanyam: Opener Priyank Panchal and Bhargav Merai put on unbroken 120 run stand for second wicket to take Gujarat close to victory. Chasing 187 for win, Gujarat is 135/1.
- Tamil Nadu vs Karnataka: Tamil Nadu loses two quick wickets as Murali Vijay and Baba Aparajith depart. TN 49/2 in 10.1 overs.
- We have an update from Hyderabad from V.V. Subrahmanyam: Gujarat on course for a win, chasing 187. They are cruising at 99/1 at lunch with Priyank Panchal and Bhargav Merai batting beautifully.
- Baroda vs Mumbai: The trio of Shams Mulani (3-72), Shashank Attarde (2-43) and Akash Parkar (2-16) put Mumbai two wickets away from victory against Baroda at Lunch on Day 4. LUNCH - Baroda 206/8.
- Andhra vs Vidarbha: Ricky Bhui (38 not out off 128b) cements himself at the crease with some help from S.K. Bharat (37 not out off 95b) as Andhra resists another collapse by the end of the first session. LUNCH - Andhra 186/3; trails by 44 runs.
- A. Vinod tells us what's going on in Trivendrum: Delhi opener Kunal Chandela gets to his maiden Ranji Trophy century (103 off 169 balls) as he leads the fightback for his side in the company of Nitish Rana.
- We have an update from Hyderabad from V.V. Subrahmanyam: Gujarat recovers well after early blow. Priyank Panchal and Bhargav Merai look confident in the middle as the visitor moves to 50/1 in 11 over in the chase of 187.
- Tamil Nadu vs Karnataka: LUNCH BREAK - Tamil Nadu openers Abhinav Mukund (27 not out) and Murali Vijay (14 not out) approach the new ball with caution to take the score to 46/0 at lunch. Tamil Nadu needs 135 runs to win.
- Goa beats Sikkim by 9 wickets. Chasing 75 to win, the host lost opener Aditya Kaushik for a duck early but Sumiran Amonkar (20 not out) and Suyash Prabhudessai (49 not out) ensured there were no further hiccups.
- Goa vs Sikkim: Goa inching towards a big win in Porvorim, Sikkim as opener Sumiran Amonkar (18 not out off 34b) and Suyash Prabhudessai (32 not out off 30b) up the scoring rate. Goa 56/1; needs 19 runs to win.
- Huge victory for Punjab as it beats Rajasthan by 10 wickets. Set a target of 68 runs, Punjab openers Sanvir Singh (26 off 42b) and Shubman Gill (36 off 28b) finish the job in 11.4 overs.
- Haryana beats Maharashtra by an innings and 68 runs. After limping at 61 for 5 at stumps on Day 3, there isn't much resistance from the Maharashtra batsmen as they bundled out for 86 runs.
- Baroda vs Mumbai: Baroda loses four wickets for 155 in its chase of 534. Deepak Hooda (43 not out 78b) and skipper Krunal Pandya (7 not out 13b) battle it out in the middle. Baroda 164/4.
- Tamil Nadu vs Karnataka: ALL OUT! R. Sai Kishore removes Ronit More as the curtain falls on Karnataka's 2nd innings at 159. Tamil Nadu will be positive of a victory in Dindigul after it is set a target of 181 runs.
- Uttar Pradesh vs Railways: The final day at Victoria Park Stadium in Meerut is yet to begin as bad visibility has stalled the play.
- Tamil Nadu vs Karnataka: Tailenders Ronit More and V.K. Koushik battle on for Kartanaka as it looks to add to its 2nd innings lead of 180 runs. Karnataka 151/9.
- Rajasthan vs Punjab: Punjab openers Sanvir Singh (17 off 21b) and Shubman Gill (23 off 12b) in a hurry to wrap things up. The visitor is 22 runs away from a win at Jaipur.
- V.V. Subrahamanyam from Hyderabad tells us: Gujarat loses an early wicket in the chase of 187. Opener Kathan Patel is caught behind off pacer Ravi Kiran. Gujarat 9/1.
- Sikkim vs Goa: Another match heading towards a possible conclusion as Goa bowls out Sikkim for 374 runs in the second innings and needs 75 runs to win.
- Our correspondent A. Vinod updates us the proceedings at Tivandrum: Jalaj Saxena gets the break through for Kerala as he scalps Dhruv Shorey (20), caught by Salman Nizar up close. The batsman is not happy with the decision. Delhi, still behind by 198 runs, is now 185/2 . Kunal Chandela batting on 76 is joined by Nitish Rana.
- Rajasthan vs Punjab: Rajasthan rolled out for 168 in its second innings as Punjab is set a target of 68 runs.
- Our correspondent V.V. Subrahamanyam Updates: Hyderabad bowled out for 266 in the 8th over of the morning, setting Gujarat a target of 187 runs for a win on final day in the Ranji Trophy match in Hyderabad. Pacer Roosh Kalaria returns with an impressive five wicket haul (16.1-45-5).
- Hyderabad vs Gujarat: Four wickets for Roosh Kalaria. He removes Tanay Thyagarajan and Mohammed Siraj in consecutive overs as Hyderabad looks to stretch its lead of 183 runs with just one wicket in hand. Hyderabad 2nd Innings: 263/9
- Karnataka vs Tamil Nadu: SIX DOWN! K. Vignesh sends back B.R. Sharath (28 off 42 balls). Karnataka 2nd Innings: 99/6; Leads by 128 runs
- Hyderabad vs Gujarat: Gujarat lands the first blow on Day 4. Chintan Gaja removes K. Sumanth (17 off 47 balls), caught by Manprit Juneja. Hyderabad 2nd Innings: 247/7
TODAY'S MATCHES
SEASON PREVIEW
Relevance and context. These are the oft-used terms when it comes to discussing the fate of Test cricket in an era of instant results. When it comes to the 86th Ranji Trophy, which starts on Monday with 19 matches scheduled to get underway in the opening league round, one can’t help but wonder whether the biggest edition — at least in terms of the number of participating teams — will also struggle to find relevance and context over the next three months.
With the overbearing emergence of India A tours, the Ranji Trophy is no longer the most important tournament for a domestic cricketer to knock on the doors of the national selectors and get a call-up in the Test squad. Also, India’s international fixtures are so dominated by white-ball cricket in 2020 that the Ranji Trophy performances are hardly going to matter in the larger scheme of things.
Read | Ranji Trophy in numbers: the stats you need to know
India is not scheduled to play a Test match at home until February, 2021. Besides, after the two Tests in New Zealand in February-March, Virat Kohli’s men could well wear whites only in November, in Australia. As a result, the Ranji Trophy this time around is most likely going to be about cricketers ‘playing for pride’ and to stake a claim for soon-to-be-introduced domestic contracts.
No wonder then that during the week-long gap between the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Ranji Trophy, most Ranji teams saw Indian Premier League (IPL) aspirants prefer to skip training at the cost of pre-auction trials organised by virtually all the IPL franchisees.
Hat-trick or treble?
Despite the oddities, the cricket connoisseurs will be hoping either for a rare hat-trick or the first treble in the history of domestic cricket to be achieved in March, 2020. No team except Bombay — which won 15 successive triumphs from 1958-59 to 1972-73 — has won three titles in a row. Vidarbha — with captain Faiz Fazal and coach Chandrakant Pandit at the helm — is hoping to join the domestic powerhouse to achieve the rare feat. With the core of the team having virtually remained the same for the third season in succession, Vidarbha can well continue to stamp its supremacy on the coveted trophy yet again.
Read | Ranji Trophy 2019-20 FAQs
The biggest challenge Vidarbha will face will be by Karnataka. The southern giant has already maintained a clean record, having swept the white-ball season with the Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy triumphs. It will be hoping to become the first team to complete the treble of inter-State titles in a season by winning Ranji.
Only if one of these two teams emerges champion will the Ranji Trophy’s 86th edition not lack in relevance or context.
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