The 2025/26 Ranji Trophy season began on October 15 – here’s a round-up of all the action from day one.
There were three centurions in the Group A matches. Vidarbha’s Aman Mokhade scored 148 not out against Nagaland, before out-of-favour Test wicketkeepers Ishan Kishan and KS Bharat made 125 not out and 142 for Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh against Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh respectively. On the bowling front, Tamil Nadu left-arm quick Gurjapneet Singh stood out with 3-51.
Odisha were in early trouble against Baroda, slipping to 49-4 before skipper Subhranshu Senapati (79) and Rajesh Dhuper (76 not out) joined hands to drag them out of trouble with a 156-run stand.
Maharashtra were 5-4 against Kerala, with Prithvi Shaw out for a duck on Ranji Trophy debut for his new side. Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad (91) and Jalaj Saxena (49) led a recovery of sorts as MD Nidheesh took 4-42. Abhinav Tejrana compiled a fine century for Goa against Chandigarh. Former India U19 captain Uday Saharan scored a patient 75 on first-class debut against Madhya Pradesh, even as Saransh Jain took six wickets.
Test cricketers Devdutt Padikkal (96) and Karun Nair (73) excelled for Karnataka against Saurashtra, while Dharmendrasinh Jadeja picked up 4-100.
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Bengal pacer Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal returned 4-54 against Uttarakhand at Eden Gardens even as Test quick Akash Deep went wicketless in 16 overs. Former India U19 quick Ishan Porel and Mohammed Shami also took three wickets: the latter’s strikes came in the last four balls of his spell. In Surat, 16 wickets fell on day one as Railways were 93-6 in reply to Haryana’s 171.
Riyan Parag made 40 on a productive day for Assam, as opener Pradyun Saikia scored 70. Left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh took three wickets for Tripura against Services in New Delhi.
In Srinagar, Mumbai were 74-3 with Musheer Khan, Ajinkya Rahane and Ayush Mhatre all back in the hut, before Sarfaraz Khan made 42, and Siddesh Lad scored a century in partnership with Shams Mulani (79*). Chhattisgarh all-rounder Ajay Mandal scored a century from No.7, coming in at 49-5 against Rajasthan.
In Hyderabad, Delhi skipper Ayush Badoni scored a half-century even as opener Sanat Sangwan held firm to remain 91 not out at the end of play alongside Ayush Doseja (97*).
No play was possible on day one of the Meghalaya-Mizoram fixture due to inclement weather. Gurinder Singh (83) and Kranthi Kumar (75) hauled Sikkim out of a hole from 92-5 against Manipur. Bihar’s Sakib Hussain took 6-51, skittling Arunachal Pradesh for 105.
14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Bihar’s new vice-captain, made 14 off 5 opening the batting before Ayush Loharuka stole the show, staying 155 not out at stumps.
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