The first leg of the Ranji Trophy is finally over. After five completed matches, the Ranji Trophy points table shapes up and the action will move to white-ball cricket. The Indian domestic scene will have the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) and Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) before the Ranji Trophy resumes on January 22. Day 4 of Round 5 of the Ranji Trophy saw an enthralling action in Indore, where Kerala failed to get the last two wickets of Madhya Pradesh. Simiarly, Bengal failed to get that elusive last wicket of Assam, who denied the hosts a victory! Meanwhile, Mumbai managed to complete their emphatic win by an innings over Pondicherry.
Rinku Singh’s magic saves UP
Rinku Singh walked into Coimbatore with great form and hype, and he left with another reminder that Uttar Pradesh lean on him more than any other player in their setup. Tamil Nadu had the game in their pocket after racking up 455 and tearing through the UP top order for 191/5.
Rinku Singh did it again for Uttar Pradesh, and at this point it barely surprises anyone who has followed his red ball season. The visitors were staring at a huge deficit when Rinku walked in, and the innings could have gone downhill quickly. Instead, he dragged the match back on his own terms.
He took his time early, saw off the tougher spells and slowly chipped away at Tamil Nadu’s plans. This wasn’t a slog or a burst of T20 hitting. He built the innings in phases, handled the spinners better than anyone else in the game and kept the lower order involved. Shivam Mavi’s 54 helped steady things, and their stand of 104 runs gave UP the first real breathing space of the match. Once Rinku crossed a hundred, he shifted gears and made sure UP stayed in the contest long enough to change the direction of the match.
His 176, with 17 fours and six sixes, ended up being the difference between UP collapsing and UP pocketing three points. Without that knock, they were staring at a follow-on. With it, they finished with a first-innings lead and something to show for a game that had gone against them early.
Captain Yash Dhull’s 189 in vain
Delhi have been awful in this Ranji Trophy season. They are winless in the first five games, meandering sixth in Group D. Against Rajasthan, they lost more points as Delhi were asked to follow on after they leaked a 274-run lead. However, when asked for the bat a second time, Yash Dhull, Delhi’s stand-in captain, showed his terrific class.
With Ayush Badoni doing India A duties, Dhull came up with a sparkling knock and showed why he is considered as one of the leading talents in Delhi cricket. Rajasthan would’ve eyed an innings win but his marathon knock of 189 made Delhi draw the game. Dhull was one of the best players at DPL 2025 earlier this year. He has brought in an intentional shift in his batting, becoming more aggressive.
Almost 64 per cent of his 189 runs came in boundaries (27 fours, 2 sixes). With this, Dhull’s tally stands at 381 runs at an average of 47.63 so far in this Ranji Trophy. He also made a ton in the Duleep Trophy, while also coming up with a fighting 92 in the Irani Cup.
Mumbai decimate Pondicherry under Shardul
Shardul Thakur’s Mumbai wrapped up the job against Pondicherry without any fuss, finishing the innings win inside the first hour on the final morning. Pondicherry resumed at 231 for six and barely added anything of substance before the Mumbai quicks closed the file. Tushar Deshpande used the cool morning at the Wankhede to his advantage, striking in his first over and removing Sidhaant Aadhhatrao, who could add only a few runs to his overnight score. He followed it up with another breakthrough, sending back captain Sagar Udeshi as Pondicherry’s hopes of stretching the game faded fast.
Shardul Thakur chipped in by knocking over Sabhay Chadha, and once the senior top order disappeared, the innings became a formality. Jayant Yadav hung around and played a few clean shots, but even he could not drag the innings much longer. Ayush Mhatre removed him to give Sarfaraz Khan his third catch of the morning. Pondicherry folded inside nine overs, handing Mumbai an innings-and-222-run win and another bonus point. Deshpande finished with 3/32 while Thakur took two in the second innings.
Ranji Trophy Round 5: Results
| Teams | Scores | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Rajasthan vs Delhi | Rajasthan 570/7d & Delhi 296 & 316/7 | Match Drawn; Rajasthan led on 1st inns |
| J&K vs Hyderabad | J&K 170 & 422; Hyderabad 121 & 190 | J&K won by 281 runs |
| Himachal vs Chhattisgarh | Himachal 425; Chhattisgarh 585/6d & 15/0 | Match Drawn; Chhattisgarh led on 1st inns |
| Mumbai vs Pondicherry | Mumbai 630/5d; Pondicherry 132 & 276 | Mumbai won by inns & 222 runs |
| Haryana vs ServicEes | Haryana 111 & 166; Services 205 & 283/7d | Services won by 211 runs |
| Bengal vs Assam | Bengal 442; Assam 200 & 282/9 | Match Drawn; Bengal led on 1st inns |
| Uttarakhand vs Gujarat | Uttarakhand 272 & 197; Gujarat 324/8d & 291/5d | Gujarat won by 146 runs |
| Railways vs Tripura | Railways 446/9d; Tripura 136 & 193 | Railways won by inns & 117 runs |
| Karnataka vs Chandigarh | Karnataka 547/8d; Chandigarh 222 & 140 | Karnataka won by inns & 185 runs |
| Saurashtra vs Goa | Saurashtra 585/7d; Goa 358 & 180 | Saurashtra won by inns & 47 runs |
| Punjab vs Maharashtra | Punjab 151 & 107; Maharashtra 350 | Maharashtra won by inns & 92 runs |
| Vidarbha vs Baroda | Vidarbha 169 & 272; Baroda 166 & 131 | Vidarbha won by 144 runs |
| Odisha vs Nagaland | Odisha 275 & 350/5d; Nagaland 161 & 165 | Odisha won by 299 runs |
| Jharkhand vs Andhra | Jharkhand 328 & 158; Andhra 567/6d | Andhra won by inns & 81 runs |
| Tamil Nadu vs Uttar Pradesh | Tamil Nadu 455; Uttar Pradesh 460 & 103/2 | Match Drawn; Uttar Pradesh led on 1st inns |
| Madhya Pradesh vs Kerala | Madhya Pradesh 192 & 167/8; Kerala 281 | Match Drawn; Kerala led on 1st inns |
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