2018–19 Ranji Trophy
The Ranji Trophy, awarded to the winners
Dates1 November 2018 – 7 February 2019
Administrator(s)BCCI
Cricket formatFirst-class cricket
Tournament format(s)Round-robin then knockout
Host(s) India
ChampionsVidarbha (2nd title)
Participants37
Matches151
Most runsMilind Kumar (1,331) (Sikkim)[1]
Most wicketsAshutosh Aman (68) (Bihar)[1]

The 2018–19 Ranji Trophy was the 85th season of the Ranji Trophy, the premier first-class cricket tournament that took place in India between November 2018 and February 2019.[2] Vidarbha were the defending champions.[3] The final took place between Vidarbha and Saurashtra, starting on 3 February 2019.[4][5] Vidarbha defeated Saurashtra by 78 runs in the final, to become the sixth team in the tournament's history to retain their title.[6][7]

Background

In April 2018, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) reinstated Bihar for the competition, bringing the total teams to 29.[2][8] In July 2018, the BCCI increased the total number of teams to 37, with the addition of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Pondicherry, Sikkim and Uttarakhand.[9][10]

Format

The tournament had four groups, with nine teams each in Groups A and B, and ten teams in Group C. All the new teams were placed in the Plate Group.[9][10] The teams in the Plate Group were allowed to have up to three professional players in their squads.[11] The top two teams from Group C and the top team in the Plate Group progressed to the quarter-finals of the tournament, along with five teams from Groups A and B.[9][10]

Summary

League phase

The opening round of fixtures saw a total of 94 players making their first-class cricket debut.[12]

In the third round match between Vidarbha and Baroda, Vidarbha's Wasim Jaffer became the first batsman to score 11,000 runs in the Ranji Trophy.[13][14] In the fourth round match between Pondicherry and Mizoram, Pondicherry's Pankaj Singh set a new record for the most five-wicket hauls against different teams in the Ranji Trophy with 17.[15] The fourth round of fixtures also saw the first occasion that seven captains scored centuries.[16]

In round five, Paras Dogra batting for Pondicherry scored 253 runs against Sikkim. It was his eighth double century, going past Ajay Sharma's record of seven double centuries in the Ranji Trophy.[17][18] Also in round five, Ajay Rohera set a new record for the highest score on debut in a first-class match.[19] Batting for Madhya Pradesh against Hyderabad, he scored 267 not out, breaking the record of 260 runs set by Amol Mazumdar in 1994.[20] Naman Ojha became the most successful wicket-keeper in Ranji Trophy history, breaking Vinayak Samant's record of 355 dismissals as wicket-keeper.[18][21]

In the sixth round of fixtures, Milind Kumar of Sikkim became the first batsman to score 1,000 runs in this edition of the tournament.[22] He did so in the match against Mizoram, in his ninth innings of the competition.[23] In round seven of the tournament, Ashutosh Aman of Bihar became the first bowler to take 50 wickets in this years' Ranji Trophy tournament.[24] He went on to finish the tournament with 68 wickets, breaking the previous record of 64 dismissals set by Bishan Singh Bedi in the 1974–75 tournament.[25] Round eight saw Pankaj Singh of Pondicherry become the first seam bowler to take 400 wickets in the Ranji Trophy.[26] In round nine, Tripura and Madhya Pradesh were both dismissed for just 35 runs in one of their innings.[27]

The group stage of the tournament saw two captains retire from all forms of cricket. In November 2018, Gautam Gambhir initially stepped down as captain of Delhi,[28] before announcing his retirement the following month.[29] Gambhir went on to score 112 in his final innings, his 43rd century in first-class cricket.[30] Saurashtra's captain, Jaydev Shah, also retired from cricket in December.[31] He made record for most matches as captain in Ranji Trophy.[21]

The ninth round match between Vidarbha and Saurashtra was Wasim Jaffer's 146th match in the Ranji Trophy. He broke Devendra Bundela's record of playing in the most Ranji matches.[21]

On 2 January 2019, Rajasthan from Group C became the first team to qualify for the quarter-finals, after they beat Goa by ten wickets.[32] Ahead of the penultimate round of fixtures, ten teams across Groups A and B still had a chance to progress to the quarter-finals.[33] Vidarbha became the first team to qualify from Group A, after Baroda beat Karnataka by two wickets in their final group-stage match.[34] Despite the loss, Karnataka also qualified from Group A.[35] Uttarakhand won the Plate Group and advanced to the quarter-finals.[36] On the final day of the group stage, Saurashtra and Gujarat from Group A, Kerala from Group B and Uttar Pradesh from Group C had also qualified for the quarter-finals.[37]

Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra across Groups A and B were relegated to Group C,[38][39] while Goa were relegated from Group C to the Plate Group for the next season.[38]

Knockout phase

Kerala were the first team to progress from the quarter-finals, after they beat Gujarat by 113 runs.[40] It was the first time in the team's history that they had reached the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy, beating their previous best of the quarter-finals, in the previous edition.[41] The second team to qualify for the semi-finals was Karnataka, after they beat Rajasthan by six wickets.[42] Defending champions Vidarbha beat Uttarakhand from the Plate Group by an innings and 115 runs to reach the semi-finals.[43] In the last quarter-final fixture to finish, Saurashtra completed the highest successful run chase to win a match in the Ranji Trophy, scoring 372 runs to beat Uttar Pradesh by six wickets.[44]

The first semi-final saw the defending champions Vidarbha beat Kerala by an innings and 11 runs inside two days.[45] Wasim Jaffer became the first batsman to score 1,000 runs in two different seasons of the Ranji Trophy.[46] Umesh Yadav took his best match figures in first-class cricket, taking twelve wickets for 79 runs.[47] In the second semi-final, Saurashtra defeated Karnataka by five wickets.[48]

Vidarbha defeated Saurashtra by 78 runs in the final, to become the sixth team in the tournament's history to retain their title. Vidarbha's captain Faiz Fazal said that "it is not easy to win the Ranji Trophy. To win eleven matches, it's not a fluke. If anyone thought last year was a fluke, we have proven ourselves again".[49] For Saurashtra, it was their third straight loss in Ranji Trophy finals, with their captain Jaydev Unadkat saying he was really proud of how his team performed during the tournament.[50]

Player transfers

The following player transfers were approved ahead of the season.[51] All the new teams in the Plate Group also transferred players into their squads, along with signing professionals.[51]

Player From To
Karn Sharma Vidarbha Andhra
Harpreet Singh Bhatia Madhya Pradesh Chhattisgarh
Krishna Das Assam Goa
Amit Verma Assam Goa
Urvil Patel Baroda Gujarat
Irfan Pathan Baroda Jammu & Kashmir
Chandrakant Sakure Madhya Pradesh Railways
Madhur Khatri Rajasthan Railways
Rajat Paliwal Haryana Services
Arjun Sharma Himachal Pradesh Services
Abhishek Tiwari Uttar Pradesh Services
Harmeet Singh Baddhan Jammu & Kashmir Tripura
Bravish Shetty Mumbai Tripura

Teams

The teams were drawn in the following groups:

League stage

Knockout stage

Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
         
A1 Vidarbha 629
P1 Uttarakhand 355 & 159
A1 Vidarbha 208
B1 Kerala 106 & 91
B1 Kerala 185 & 171
A4 Gujarat 162 & 81
A1 Vidarbha 312 & 200
A2 Saurashtra 307 & 127
A2 Saurashtra 208 & 372/4
C2 Uttar Pradesh 385 & 194
A2 Saurashtra 236 & 282/5
A3 Karnataka 275 & 239
A3 Karnataka 263 & 185/4
C1 Rajasthan 224 & 222

Quarter-finals

15–19 January 2019
1st Quarter-final
Scorecard
v
355 (108.4 overs)
Saurabh Rawat 108 (162)
Umesh Yadav 4/90 (31.4 overs)
629 (184 overs)
Wasim Jaffer 206 (296)
Dhanraj Sharma 3/101 (29 overs)
159 (65.1 overs)
Karn Kaushal 76 (137)
Umesh Yadav 5/23 (15 overs)
Vidarbha won by an innings and 115 runs
Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur
Umpires: Amiesh Saheba and Sudhir Asnani
Player of the match: Umesh Yadav (Vidarbha)
  • Vidarbha won the toss and elected to field.
  • Avneesh Sudha (Uttarakhand) made his first-class debut.
  • Wasim Jaffer (Vidarbha) scored his 19,000th run in first-class cricket.[54]
15–19 January 2019
2nd Quarter-final
Scorecard
v
385 (103.3 overs)
Rinku Singh 150 (181)
Jaydev Unadkat 5/86 (22.3 overs)
208 (66.4 overs)
Harvik Desai 84 (143)
Yash Dayal 4/55 (17.3 overs)
194 (72.1 overs)
Mohammad Saif 48 (80)
Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 4/53 (19 overs)
372/4 (115.1 overs)
Harvik Desai 116 (259)
Akshdeep Nath 1/17 (5 overs)
Saurashtra won by 6 wickets
Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow
Umpires: Abhijit Deshmukh and Rohan Pandit
Player of the match: Harvik Desai (Saurashtra)
  • Uttar Pradesh won the toss and elected to bat.
  • Rahul Rawat (Uttar Pradesh) made his first-class debut.
  • Harvik Desai (Saurashtra) scored his maiden first-class century.[44]
  • This was the highest successful run chase to win a match in the Ranji Trophy.[44]
15–19 January 2019
3rd Quarter-final
Scorecard
v
224 (77.1 overs)
Rajesh Bishnoi 79 (119)
Abhimanyu Mithun 3/48 (17.1 overs)
263 (87.4 overs)
Vinay Kumar 83* (144)
Rahul Chahar 5/93 (26.1 overs)
222 (67.2 overs)
Robin Bist 44 (73)
Krishnappa Gowtham 4/54 (19 overs)
185/4 (47.5 overs)
Manish Pandey 87* (75)
Aniket Choudhary 2/32 (13 overs)
Karnataka won by 6 wickets
M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Umpires: Nikhil Patwardhan and Nand Kishore
Player of the match: Vinay Kumar (Karnataka)
  • Karnataka won the toss and elected to field.
  • Tanveer Ul-Haq became the first bowler for Rajasthan to take 50 wickets in a single edition of the Ranji Trophy.[55]
15–19 January 2019
4th Quarter-final
Scorecard
v
185 (39.3 overs)
Basil Thampi 37 (33)
Chintan Gaja 4/57 (14.3 overs)
162 (51.4 overs)
Parthiv Patel 43 (36)
Sandeep Warrier 4/42 (23 overs)
171 (59 overs)
Sijomon Joseph 56 (148)
Roosh Kalaria 3/36 (17 overs)
81 (31.3 overs)
Rahul Shah 33* (70)
Basil Thampi 5/27 (12 overs)
Kerala won by 113 runs
Krishnagiri Stadium, Wayanad
Umpires: Krishnaraj Srinath and Tapan Sharma
Player of the match: Basil Thampi (Kerala)
  • Gujarat won the toss and elected to field.
  • Rahul Shah (Gujarat) made his first-class debut.
  • Roosh Kalaria (Gujarat) took a hat-trick.[56]
  • This was the first time that Kerala had progressed to the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy.[41]

Semi-finals

24–28 January 2019
1st Semi-final
Scorecard
v
106 (28.4 overs)
Vishnu Vinod 37* (50)
Umesh Yadav 7/48 (12 overs)
208 (52.4 overs)
Faiz Fazal 75 (142)
Sandeep Warrier 5/57 (16.4 overs)
91 (24.5 overs)
Arun Karthik 36 (33)
Umesh Yadav 5/31 (10.5 overs)
Vidarbha won by an innings and 11 runs
Krishnagiri Stadium, Wayanad
Umpires: Anil Dandekar and Virender Sharma
Player of the match: Umesh Yadav (Vidarbha)
  • Vidarbha won the toss and elected to field.
24–28 January 2019
2nd Semi-final
Scorecard
v
275 (100.3 overs)
Shreyas Gopal 87 (182)
Jaydev Unadkat 4/56 (21 overs)
236 (71 overs)
Snell Patel 85 (131)
Ronit More 6/60 (18 overs)
239 (80 overs)
Shreyas Gopal 61 (138)
Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 5/78 (28 overs)
282/5 (91.4 overs)
Cheteshwar Pujara 131* (266)
Vinay Kumar 3/75 (25 overs)
Saurashtra won by 5 wickets
M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Umpires: Ulhas Gandhe and Saiyed Khalid
Player of the match: Cheteshwar Pujara (Saurashtra)

Final

3–7 February 2019
Final
Scorecard
v
312 (120.2 overs)
Akshay Karnewar 73* (160)
Jaydev Unadkat 3/54 (24 overs)
307 (117 overs)
Snell Patel 102 (209)
Aditya Sarwate 5/98 (40 overs)
200 (92.5 overs)
Aditya Sarwate 49 (133)
Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 6/96 (36.5 overs)
127 (58.4 overs)
Vishvaraj Jadeja 52 (137)
Aditya Sarwate 6/59 (24 overs)
Vidarbha won by 78 runs
Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur
Umpires: Chettithody Shamshuddin and Anil Chaudhary
Player of the match: Aditya Sarwate (Vidarbha)
  • Vidarbha won the toss and elected to bat.
  • Wasim Jaffer (Vidarbha) played in his tenth Ranji Trophy final, and has been on the winning side every time.[59]

References

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  2. 1 2 "No Irani Cup in 2018-19 domestic season?". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  3. ↑ "Delhi vs Vidarbha, Ranji Trophy final, full cricket score, Day 4: VID win title for 1st time, create history". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  4. ↑ "Ranji Trophy semifinal: Pujara and Unadkat set up Saurashtra vs Vidarbha final". India Today. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  5. ↑ "Vidarbha v Saurashtra - a fitting Ranji final". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  6. ↑ "Aditya Sarwate takes 11, Vidarbha win second straight Ranji Trophy title". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  7. ↑ "'What a Success Story' - Tributes Pour in for Ranji Trophy Champions Vidarbha". Network18 Media and Investments Ltd. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  8. ↑ "BCCI Technical Committee Approves Bihar's Participation in Ranji Trophy". News18. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  9. 1 2 3 "Nine new teams in Ranji Trophy 2018–19". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  10. 1 2 3 "Logistical nightmare on cards as BCCI announces 37-team Ranji Trophy for 2018-19 season". Indian Express. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  11. ↑ "Go pro - the template to success in Ranji Trophy's Plate Group". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  12. ↑ "Ranji Trophy Digest: Mixed Bag For India Stars, New States Take Baby Steps". Network18 Media and Investments Ltd. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  13. ↑ "Wasim Jaffer becomes first batsman to reach 11,000 runs in Ranji Trophy". The Indian Express. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  14. ↑ "Wasim Jaffer Becomes The First Player To Reach 11,000 Runs In Ranji Trophy". NDTV. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  15. ↑ "Ranji Highlights: Kerala succumb to Avesh Khan's assault". CricBuzz. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  16. ↑ "Ranji Takeaways: Gujarat Register Historic Win Over Mumbai; Bengal Beat Tamil Nadu in a Thriller". Network18 Media and Investments Ltd. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  17. ↑ "Paras Dogra's record double-ton, and a memorable debut for Shahrukh Khan". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  18. 1 2 "Stats: Naman Ojha and Paras Dogra rewrite Ranji Trophy records". CricTracker. 6 December 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  19. ↑ "Ranji Trophy: Ajay Rohera breaks 24-year-old world record for highest score on first-class debut". Scroll. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  20. ↑ "MP's Ajay Rohera sets highest-ever score on first-class debut; breaks Amol Mazumdar's 25-year-old record". Cricket Country. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  21. 1 2 3 "New records by new teams, and the misfortunes of Mumbai and Delhi". ESPNcricinfo. 10 January 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  22. ↑ "Ranji Trophy 2018/19: Milind Kumar, playing for Sikkim, enters the record books". News Nation. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  23. ↑ "Milind Kumar: from being sidelined in Delhi to 1000 in the Ranji Trophy". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  24. ↑ "Ranji Takeaways: Shubman Gill Scores 148 in Thrilling Draw; Mumbai Fail to Win Again". Network18 Media and Investments Ltd 2018. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  25. ↑ "Ashutosh Aman flights his way from the Air Force to the Ranji Trophy record books". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  26. ↑ "No stopping Wasim Jaffer". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  27. ↑ "Two Indian first-class sides bowled out for 35". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  28. ↑ "Ranji Trophy: Gautam Gambhir steps down as Delhi captain, Nitish Rana takes over". The Indian Express. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  29. ↑ "Gautam Gambhir retires from all cricket". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  30. ↑ "Gambhir's fairy-tale finish, and a Laxman-Dravid reprise". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  31. ↑ "Saurashtra captain Jaydev Shah to retire from all cricket". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  32. ↑ "Vidarbha enter Ranji Trophy quarters; MP, Punjab close in". The Sentinel (Assam). Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  33. ↑ "Easwaran's 183* keeps Bengal alive; Jharkhand denied victory". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  34. ↑ "Vidarbha through; Baroda alive as Karnataka lose in two days". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  35. ↑ "Madhya Pradesh lose 6 for 0, knocked out". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  36. ↑ "Ranji Trophy 2018-19, Round 9, Plate, Day 3: Unbeaten Uttarakhand qualify for knockouts". Cricket Country. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  37. ↑ "Ranji Takeaways: Kerala, Gujarat Sneak Through to Complete Quarterfinal Line-up". Network18 Media and Investments Ltd. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  38. 1 2 "Ranji highlights: Karnataka, Uttarakhand qualify, Chhattisgarh, Goa relegated". CricBuzz. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  39. ↑ "Ranji highlights: Vidarbha qualify, Maharashtra relegated". CricBuzz. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  40. ↑ "Historic win hands maiden Ranji Trophy semifinal appearance to Kerala". CricBuzz. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  41. 1 2 "Kerala vanquish Gujarat to enter maiden Ranji semi-final". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  42. ↑ "Pandey, Nair take Karnataka into Ranji Trophy semi-finals". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  43. ↑ "Ranji Trophy: Vidarbha rout Uttarakhand to reach semifinals". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  44. 1 2 3 "Saurashtra pull off highest chase in Ranji Trophy history, join Vidarbha in semi-finals". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  45. ↑ "Ranji Trophy: Umesh Yadav demolishes Kerala, defending champions Vidarbha enter final". India Today. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  46. ↑ "Wasim Jaffer 1st batsman to score 1000 runs in a Ranji Trophy season twice". India Today. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  47. ↑ "Umesh Yadav's 12-for seals innings win for Vidarbha". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  48. ↑ "R Ranji Trophy 2018 Semi-final: Saurashtra beat Karnataka by 5 wickets to move into finals". Indian Express. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  49. ↑ "'If anyone thought last year was a fluke, we have proven ourselves again'". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  50. ↑ "Unadkat confident of bright future despite Sautrashtra's stumble at the final hurdle". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  51. 1 2 "List of domestic transfers ahead of the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy season". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  52. 1 2 3 "Ranji Trophy Table - 2018–19". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  53. ↑ "Ranji Trophy Table - 2018–19". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  54. ↑ "Ranji Trophy 2018-19: Wasim Jaffer crosses 19,000 runs during 206 in quarters". Cricket Country. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  55. ↑ "Vinay's batting grit saves the day for Karnataka". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  56. ↑ "Ranji Trophy 2018-19: Roosh Kalaria sixth bowler to take a hat-trick this season". Cricket Country. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  57. ↑ "Unadkat, Jadeja peg Karnataka back". Cricket Country. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  58. ↑ "Ranji Trophy semi-final Day 3 Highlights: Saurashtra vs Karnataka". India Today. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  59. ↑ "Ranji Trophy: Ageless Wasim Jaffer completes Perfect 10 after Vidarbha lifeline". India Today. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
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