Home
Cricket
Ranji Trophy Round-up Day 4: CSK pacer takes 5 for Ruturaj Gaikwad & Kerala sans Sanju Samson frustrate MP

Ranji Trophy Round-up Day 4: CSK pacer takes 5 for Ruturaj Gaikwad & Kerala sans Sanju Samson frustrate MP

Tamil Nadu, Vidarbha, Jammu & Kashmir and Haryana are at top of their respective Ranji Trophy groups.

Phew! That was an action-packed sixth round of the Ranji Trophy that we witnessed. While the highlight of this fixture list would surely be Jammu and Kashmir’s humongous victory against defending champions Mumbai, other states cemented their foot as well. Kerala, without Sanju Samson, had a hard-fought draw against Madhya Pradesh—a clash that went till the last ball of the 12 sessions. Meanwhile, Maharashtra, under the leadership of Ruturaj Gaikwad, gained a massive win of 439 runs against Krunal Pandya’s Baroda.

Gaikwad gets CSK pacer’s support

As the fourth day of the Ranji Trophy unfolded, Mukesh Choudhary, the talented pacer from Chennai Super Kings (CSK), delivered a fierce performance that proved pivotal for Maharashtra in their match against Baroda. Choudhary ripped through the Baroda batting order, claiming five wickets and restricting them to a mere 177 runs in their second innings. With Maharashtra having set a monumental target of 617, Choudhary’s brilliant bowling display guided his side to an astounding victory by an innings and 439 runs.

Gaikwad, who missed out on a 100 yesterday, declared Maharashtra’s innings at an overnight score of 464-7 d in 119 overs. This happened after Ramakrishna Ghosh was dismissed on an unfortunate 99. Quite interestingly, Krunal used all his ten players in the outfield to bowl! Yes, as many as 10 bowlers bowled, with experienced Luke Meriwala taking a 2-fer. Despite Atit Sheth scoring a fifty, the Baroda batting crumbled. Rajneesh Gurbani and Mukesh Choudhary took 8 wickets between them as Maharashtra win by 439.

Kerala eke out much-wanted draw vs MP

Meanwhile, Kerala, playing without their star wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, did something remarkable. Kerala managed to salvage a draw against Madhya Pradesh in their Ranji Trophy clash, thanks to an outstanding rear-guard effort from Aditya Sarvate and wicketkeeper Muhammed Azharuddeen. Facing a daunting target of 363 runs, Kerala found themselves in dire straits, slumping to 47 for 5 early in their second innings. The innings took a crucial turn when Azharuddeen came to the crease following the dismissal of captain Sachin Baby for just 18 runs.

Azharuddeen helped stabilize the innings, particularly as he formed a vital partnership with Jalaj Saxena, who contributed a solid 32 runs. Together, they put on 74 runs, taking the team’s total to 121 before Saxena fell to Saransh Jain. However, it was the explosive performance of Sarvate that truly reignited Kerala’s hopes. The Vidarbha allrounder played aggressively, hitting two sixes and eight fours in his rapid 80 off 130 balls, leading the charge in a crucial 90-run partnership with Azharuddeen.

As Kerala started to feel confident in their survival, the loss of Azharuddeen for 68 and Sarvate soon after plunged the team back into uncertainty. Nevertheless, Baba Aparajith, who had retired hurt earlier in the match, emerged as the last recognized batter. He held his composure alongside Nidheesh MD, successfully navigating tense moments in what turned out to be nail-biting conditions. The duo defended for 82 balls to ensure Kerala avoided defeat, allowing them to secure three points from the match due to their first-innings lead.

Latest on Cricket

Ranji Trophy Round 6 Day 4 brief scores:

Team 1Innings 1 ScoreInnings 2 ScoreTeam 2Innings 1 ScoreInnings 2 ScoreResult
Saurashtra27115/0Delhi18894SAU Won by 10 Wickets
Karnataka475Punjab55213KAR Won by an inn and 207 Runs
Mumbai120290J & K206207/5J & K Won by 5 Wickets
Tamil Nadu301305/5 dChandigarh204193TN Won by 209 Runs
Hyderabad565Himachal Pradesh275247HYD Won by an inn and 43 Runs
Maharashtra297464/7 dBaroda145177MAH Won by 439 Runs
Vidarbha165428/9 dRajasthan265107VID Won by 221 Runs
Pondicherry260152/0Andhra303319/6 dMatch Drawn, AP took first inn lead
Kerala167/9268/8Madhya Pradesh160369/8 dMatch Drawn, KER took first inn lead
Bengal12585Haryana157336HAR Won by 283 Runs
Bihar248236Uttar Pradesh603/2 dUP Won by an inn and 119 Runs
Jharkhand376105/2Chhattisgarh230250JHA Won by 8 Wickets
Assam216Railways250124/5 dMatch Drawn, RAI took first inn lead
Tripura212357/5 dServices294101/2Match Drawn, SER took first inn lead
Meghalaya198294Odisha548/7 dODI Won by an inn and 56 Runs

Ranji Trophy points table after Round 6 (Latest by Jan 26)

Elite Group A

TeamMatWonLostDrawNRPtsNRR
Jammu & Kashmir6402029+1.598
Baroda6411027-0.003
Mumbai6321022+0.495
Services6231016-0.011
Odisha6221116-1.291
Tripura6113115+0.663
Maharashtra6231014+0.434
Meghalaya606000-1.450

Elite Group B

TeamMatWonLostDrawNRPtsNRR
Vidarbha6501034+0.902
Gujarat6303025-0.089
Himachal Pradesh6330021+0.166
Rajasthan6114016+0.454
Hyderabad6222016-0.319
Uttarakhand6132010-0.892
Andhra603307+0.181
Puducherry603303-0.411

Elite Group C

TeamMatWonLostDrawNRPtsNRR
Haryana6303026-0.385
Kerala6204021+0.303
Karnataka6204019+1.294
Bengal6113114+0.021
UP6114013+1.050
Punjab6132011+0.897
MP6114010+0.601
Bihar605011+0.345

Elite Group D

TeamMatWonLostDrawNRPtsNRR
Tamil Nadu6303025+1.824
Chandigarh6330019-0.162
Saurashtra6222018+1.114
Railways6213017+0.050
Jharkhand6114014+0.908
Delhi6123014+0.757
Chhattisgarh6015011+1.152
Assam602408+0.275
Follow
Share

Editor's Pick

Big blow to Team India ahead of Champions Trophy 2025 opener, personal tragedy hits Morne Morkel Cricket Big blow to Team India ahead of Champions Trophy 2025 opener, personal tragedy hits Morne Morkel

Top Stories

Share article
Follow us on social media
Tell us why didn’t you like our article so that we can improve on?
Choose ranking:
ICC Test Ranking
ICC ODI Ranking
ICC T20I Ranking