Ranji Trophy: Padikkal slams 151 as Karnataka, TN play out a thriller

Notable results

Saurashtra 328 & 234 for 6 decl. beat Rajasthan 257 & 87 by 218 runs

Mumbai 351 & 253 for 6 decl. drew with Chhattisgarh 350 (Mumbai took first innings lead)

Kerala 363 & 265 for 6 decl. beat Bengal 180 & 339 by 109 runs

Karnataka 366 & 139 drew with Tamil Nadu 151 & 338 for 8

Delhi 264 & 381 for 6 decl. beat Himachal Pradesh 319 & 250 by 76 runs

Click here to view all Ranji Trophy results from this week

Top-performers of the week

Prithvi ShawPrithvi Shaw returned to Mumbai in the game against Bengal last round, scoring a brisk 35 in his only innings. However, he upped his game in this round with a magnificent 185-ball 159, with 18 fours and three sixes punctuating his innings. He put on 244 for the first wicket with Bhupen Lalwani (102) to set the tone. However, a middle-order collapse saw Mumbai register a below-par total, but it was good enough to take three points on first-innings lead.

Jalaj Saxena

Kerala all-rounder Jalaj Saxena had a dream game against Bengal in Thiruvananthapuram. He finished with figures of 9 for 68 in the first innings and followed that up with 4 for 104 in the second, to finish with 13 in the match. If that was not enough, he scored 40 and 37, opening the batting for Kerala to help them to a comprehensive 109-run victory.

Tanmay Agarwal

Hyderabad’s Tanmay Agarwal continued his rich form with 164 against Nagaland in the Plate semi-final in Hyderabad. He had previously scored the fastest triple ton in first-class cricket, getting to the landmark in just 147 deliveries. His innings played an instrumental role in Hyderabad scoring a formidable 428. They did not have to bat again as Nagaland managed just 206 and 188 as Hyderabad romped to an innings and 68-run victory.

Rahul Tewatia

Over the last couple of years, Rahul Tewatia has established himself as one of the deadliest finishers in T20 cricket, at least in India, but in the latest round, he slammed 144 off 212 deliveries against Jharkhand, coming in at No.7 for Haryana – his maiden ton in first-class cricket – to take his side to a formidable 509. That proved to be enough as the Virat Singh-led Jharkhand folded for 119 and 185 as Haryana completed a comfortable innings and 205-run win.

Ricky Bhui

Andhra captain Ricky Bhui’s 94 against Uttar Pradesh in the first innings helped his side post a respectable 261. UP were then bowled out for 198. Bhui stepped up to the plate once again in the second innings with a timely 129 as Andhra played out a draw. Bhui is now the leading run-getter in the Ranji Trophy with 773 runs at 85.88, pipping N Jagadeesan at the top.

Here’s Hardik Worah with an exclusive chat with Bhui

Dharmendrasinh Jadeja

Saurashtra spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja’s excellent form in the Ranji Trophy this season continued as he finished with his best bowling figures. In the game against Rajasthan in Jaipur, Jadeja finished with a five-wicket haul and followed that up with his 7 for 32 – his best figures in first-class cricket - to bowl the hosts out for just 87 to help his side to a comfortable 218-run victory. He finished with 12 for 131 – his best bowling figures in a match as well. Safe to say, this will be a tie he will not forget quickly.

Kulwant Khejroliya

Madhya Pradesh pacer Kulwant Khejroliya dismissed Shashwat Rawat, Mahesh Pithiya, Bhargav Bhatt and Akash Singh off consecutive deliveries to become only the third bowler from his state to pick up a double hat-trick. 

The left-arm quick achieved this feat against Baroda in Indore as MP went on to win by an innings 52 runs. 

Other notable performances

Priyajitsing Jadeja (Gujarat) – 5 for 60 & 5 for 39 vs Punjab

Abhimanyu Easwaran (Bengal) – 72 & 65 vs Kerala

KV Sasikanth (Andhra) – 71 & 13, 5 for 54 vs Uttar Pradesh

Agni Chopra (Mizoram) – 53 & 69 vs Meghalaya

Sheldon Jackson (Saurashtra) – 116 & 49 vs Rajasthan

Bhupen Lalwani (Mumbai) – 102 vs Chhattisgarh

Amandeep Khare (Chhattisgarh) – 143 vs Mumbai

Sachin Baby (Kerala) - 124 & 51 vs Bengal

Youngsters who shone

Tilak Varma

Tilak Varma, who led Hyderabad against Nagaland, scored a superb century with a strike-rate of 75 to help his side to 462 for 8. Moreover, he chipped in with three wickets in the second innings as Hyderabad went on to win by an innings and 68 runs. 

Devdutt PadikkalDevdutt Padikkal has been in superb form in the Ranji Trophy, having scored three centuries in his last six innings in the tournament. In the latest match against Tamil Nadu, Padikkal scored 151 to help Karnataka to 366. That proved to be a massive score in the end as Tamil Nadu were bundled out for just 151. He top-scored once again in the second innings with 36, eventually setting Tamil Nadu a target of 355. The game eventually ended in a draw, as TN made a match of it finishing at 338 for 8. Padikkal's impressive run of form has earned him his maiden Test call-up.

Akash Pandey

25-year-old spinner Akash Pandey bowled Railways to a superb victory over Goa, finishing with 13 wickets in the match, including 9 for 71 in the second innings to bowl the opposition out for 242. Moreover, he also picked up four wickets in the first innings to go with a vital 26 with the bat at nine to stretch the total to 297. Interestingly, he has 23 wickets in the last two matches this season. Before that, he managed just four scalps in five matches. What a turnaround!

International watch

Ajinkya Rahane

After scores of 0, 0, 16, 8, 9 and 1, Ajinkya Rahane finally was among the runs as he finished unbeaten on 56 against Chhattisgarh in Raipur to help Mumbai draw the game. Interestingly, Mumbai went on to gain three points as they took a slender lead of one run in the first innings.

Cheteshwar Pujara

Cheteshwar Pujara bounced back from a poor show against Maharashtra in the previous round to record his 62nd first-class century (110) – his 13th in the Ranji Trophy against Rajasthan in Jaipur. He put on over 200 with the fourth wicket with Sheldon Jackson (116) to help Saurashtra to 328. It turned out to be a comfortable win for Saurashtra in the end.

Karun Nair

Karun Nair has registered back-to-back centuries in the Ranji Trophy, scoring 129 against Maharashtra in Pune in this round of the Ranji Trophy. His ton helped Vidarbha take a 344-run first-innings lead and in the end, it proved to be more than enough as his side registered a comfortable 10-wicket victory.

Jayant Yadav

Off-spinner Jayant Yadav, who last played for India in 2022, picked up 10 wickets in the match against Jharkhand in Jamshedpur. This was just the second time he has breached the 10-wicket mark in a match. His tally of 10 for 90 handed Haryana a massive innings win after their batters put on over 500 in their only innings.

Hanuma Vihari
Hanuma Vihari has managed scores of just 12, 11 and 48 in the three innings after his epic 183 against Chhattisgarh in Raipur. Overall, he has scored 424 runs at 47.11 in the season so far, which is not bad, but Andhra will hope for their senior batter to be a little more consistent in the upcoming games.

Disappointments of the week

Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey has managed just one fifty in his last four Ranji Trophy innings this season. In the close tie against Tamil Nadu in Chennai, Pandey managed just 1 and 14 in his two innings. Karnataka will hope that the veteran batter finds some form once again before the knockouts.

Mayank Agarwal

Pandey’s teammate Mayank Agarwal returned to lead his side for the game against TN, but failed to have any sort of impact. His has scores of 17, 20 and 11 in his last three innings, which came on the the back of scores of 51, 114, 19 and 109 in four innings prior.

What made news this week?

Saurabh Tiwary the Jharkhand batter is retiring from professional cricket at the end of the season. He has smashed 3,256 runs at 49.33 for Jharkhand in the Ranji Trophy, which included five tons and 21 fifties. Jharkhand’s next game against Rajasthan in the next round, starting February 16, will be his last.