Two Ranji finals in the same year!
Published : Jan 12, 2018 18:34 IST
1
The number of occasions, when two finals of the Ranji Trophy were played in the same year. For the first time in the tournament’s history, the year 2017 has seen the start of two finals and that too both at the same venue — Holkar Stadium, Indore! Check table below for details.
| Start date (season) | Winner | Loser | Venue | Result | Won on (date) |
29 December 2017 (2017/18) | Vidarbha | Delhi | Indore | by 9 wickets | 1 January 2018 |
10 January 2017 (2016/17) | Gujarat | Mumbai | Indore | by 5 wickets | 14 January 2017 |
11 January 2010 (2009/10) | Mumbai | Karnataka | Mysore | by 6 runs | 14 January 2010 |
11 January 2011 (2010/11) | Rajasthan | Baroda | Vadodara | on 1 inns lead | 15 January 2011 |
12 January 2009 (2008/09) | Mumbai | Uttar Pradesh | Hyderabad | by 243 runs | 16 January 2009 |
16 January 2008 (2007/08) | Delhi | Uttar Pradesh | Mumbai | by 9 wickets | 19 January 2008 |
2
Th number of occasions, bowlers have claimed a hat-trick in a Ranji Trophy final. Vidarbha’s Rajneesh Gurbani became the second after Tamil Nadu’s B. Kalyanasundaram, who achieved it in a losing cause against Bombay during the 1972/73 final at Chepauk in Madras (now Chennai).
4
The number of occasions, Vidarbha bowlers have claimed a hat-trick in a Ranji Trophy match. Vidarbha’s Rajneesh Gurbani became the third after Pritam Gandhe (twice) and Umesh Yadav. See details below:
| Bowler | Bowling | Against | Venue | Month, Year | Result |
| Pritam Gandhe | 8/61 | Rajasthan | Alwar | Dec 1993 | WON |
| Pritam Gandhe + | 3/36 | Services | Palam Delhi | Nov 2008 | WON |
| Umesh Yadav | 4/45 | Rajasthan | Nagpur | Nov 2015 | WON |
| Rajneesh Gurbani | 6/59 | Delhi | Indore | Dec 2017 | WON |
+ was captain
18
The number of teams that have now won the coveted Ranji Trophy title. Vidarbha is the latest entrant to this elite list as provided chronologically in the table below.
| No | Team | 1st title | Last title | Winners |
| 1 | Bombay + | 1934/35 | 2015/16 | 41 |
| 2 | Nawanagar + | 1936/37 | - | 1 |
| 3 | Hyderabad | 1937/38 | 1986/87 | 2 |
| 4 | Bengal | 1938/39 | 1989/90 | 2 |
| 5 | Maharashtra | 1939/40 | 1940/41 | 2 |
| 6 | Baroda | 1942/43 | 2000/01 | 5 |
| 7 | Western India + | 1943/44 | - | 1 |
| 8 | Holkar + | 1945/46 | 1952/53 | 4 |
| 9 | Madras + | 1954/55 | 1987/88 | 2 |
| 10 | Karnataka + | 1973/74 | 2014/15 | 8 |
| 11 | Delhi | 1978/79 | 2007/08 | 7 |
| 12 | Haryana | 1990/91 | - | 1 |
| 13 | Punjab | 1992/93 | - | 1 |
| 14 | Railways | 2001/02 | 2004/05 | 2 |
| 15 | Uttar Pradesh | 2005/06 | - | 1 |
| 16 | Rajasthan | 2010/11 | 2011/12 | 2 |
| 17 | Gujarat | 2016/17 | - | 1 |
| 18 | Vidarbha | 2017/18 | - | 1 |
Notes:
+ Bombay became Mumbai in 1996. Titles won as Bombay 32, and as Mumbai 9.
+ Nawanagar, Western India and Holkar do not exist anymore.
+ Madras became Tamil Nadu in 1970/71. As Madras won 1 title, and as Tamil Nadu won 1 title.
+ Mysore became Karnataka in 1973/74. All their eight titles came as Karnataka.
8
The number of times Delhi had lost a Ranji Trophy final. Now, only Bengal (11) and Madras/Tamil Nadu (10) have lost more finals. Delhi, meanwhile, equals the losing tally of Rajasthan, which, too, had lost eight finals in just 14 seasons — all from 1960/61 to 1973/74. The table below has details of Delhi’s losses in the Ranji Trophy final.
| # | Season | Lost to | result | Venue | Delhi captain |
| 1 | 1976/77 | Bombay | by 129 runs | Delhi | Bishan Singh Bedi |
| 2 | 1980/81 | Bombay | by inns & 46 runs | Bombay | Bishan Singh Bedi |
| 3 | 1983/84 | Bombay | Drawn (on 1 inns lead) | Bombay | Mohinder Amarnath |
| 4 | 1984/85 | Bombay | by 90 runs | Bombay | Madan Lal Sharma |
| 5 | 1986/87 | Hyderabad | Drawn (on 1 inns lead) | Delhi | Madan Lal Sharma |
| 6 | 1989/90 | Bengal | by run quotient | Calcutta | Kirti Azad |
| 7 | 1996/97 | Mumbai | Drawn (on 1 inns lead) | Gwalior | Ajay Sharma |
| 8 | 2017/18 | Vidarbha | by 9 wickets | Indore | Rishabh Pant |
This week in 1976... on January 25: Indian left-hander Surinder Amarnath scored 124 on Test debut against New Zealand in Auckland. He emulated his father, Lala Amarnath to become the first and only father-son combination to score Test hundreds on debut! Lala Amarnath did so, 42 years before Surinder, in December 1933! Interestingly, both Lala and Surinder never ever managed to make another three-figure score in Test cricket! |
Queries Corner When was the last time an Australian bowler was the leading Test wicket-taker in a calendar year? — Ramu Aniyan, Mysore Mitchell Johnson, with 63 wickets in 2009, was then the leading Test wicket-taker for the year. Before that it was Shane Warne with a record — 96 wickets during the year 2005. Is Rajneesh Gurbani the first bowler to take five wicket hauls in the quarter, semifinal and final of a Ranji Trophy in the same season? — Abhay Chaturvedi, Agra Rajneesh Gurbani (5/38, 5/94 & 7/68, 6/59), in fact, became the fourth bowler after Maharashtra’s Vithal Joshi (6/152, 7/80, 5/62) in 1970/71, Bombay’s Karsan Ghavri (7/34, 5/56, 6/105) in 1976/77 and Delhi’s Maninder Singh (7/57, 5/63, 5/130) in 1991/92 to achieve this rare feat! How often has Wasim Jaffer appeared in a Ranji Trophy final? — Anil Nalawade, Nagpur This year’s final was Wasim Jaffer’s ninth occasion in a Ranji Trophy final. Previously, he did so on eight occasions for Mumbai in 1996/97, 1999/00, 2002/03, 2003/04, 2006/07, 2008/09, 2009/10 and 2012/13 and now for Vidarbha in 2017/18. Interestingly, he has never been in a losing final! I am told that Don Bradman, with 961 rating points in 1948, has the highest ranking among all Test batsmen. Among Indians who has the highest rating points and which position does he occupy? — Ravi Shriyan, Mumbai Sunil Gavaskar with 916 points has the maximum rating points among Indian batsmen. He achieved this just after his 221 against England at the Oval in September 1979. Currently he occupies the 23rd position in the all-time batting list. Note: All figures above are updated as on January 5, 2018 Queries may be sent to sportstar@thehindu.co.in |