Day 2 of the fifth round belonged to the batters and the outliers, and the pitches seemed nothing like what we see at the international level. While the Indian senior team are dishing out horrendous batting on questionable pitches, the Indian domestic scene continues with lifeless pitches with nothing for the bowlers. Yet, we saw some incredible performances.
Mumbai piled on a mountain against Pondicherry, Karnataka rode another Smaran Ravichandran epic, and several other games lurched into interesting shapes. It was one of those chaotic Ranji days where scorecards kept changing every few minutes and bowlers mostly stood around wondering why they even bothered polishing the ball. In the Tamil Nadu vs UP game, two centuries were scored, while Rajasthan declared at 570/7 against Delhi.
Shardul Thakur lights up Wankhede before IPL
The buzz around Shardul Thakur had only just cooled after his unexpected trade to Mumbai Indians (MI). This knock dragged the hype right back. Leading Mumbai in their Ranji clash at the Wankhede, he walked in with the innings already fattened and decided to add his own flavour anyway. His fifty came in 31 balls, punched and lifted over Puducherry’s attack without fuss. Sabhay Chadha wore most of the damage as he leaked 32 runs in 16 balls against Thakur and by the time Thakur was done, Mumbai had stormed past 600.
He then opened the ball-talk with a wild first over, knocking over two batters before Puducherry even settled into their stance. A third wicket arrived soon enough as the visitors slumped to 37 for 4. Between his hitting spree and that early burst, Thakur basically ran the entire day. He finished the day with bowling figures of 3/17, truly playing like a captain!
Smaran Ravichandran doubles down again
Karnataka’s young batting machine has made a habit of treating bowling attacks like background scenery. Smaran Ravichandran’s second double hundred of the season came with stubbornness that has defined his year. Chandigarh started brightly with the ball, then got dragged into a long, draining examination as Smaran moved from milestone to milestone.
Chandigarh had Karnataka troubled when they got the wickets of Karun Nair and Abhinav Manohar. However, from being 210/5, Smaran’s innings took the side to 547/8 before the declaration was announced.
S Ravichandran’s Ranji Trophy stats so far this season
- Runs: 595
- Inns: 7
- Average: 119.00
- 50/100/200: 2/0/2
Ranji Trophy other updates
Puducherry were not the only side overwhelmed. Kerala’s bowlers tightened their grip on Madhya Pradesh, who stumbled to 118 for 6 after a cluster of lbws and miscued strokes. Tom Eden Apple was massively impressive. Tamil Nadu’s 455 looked much stronger once Uttar Pradesh lost their first wicket on 73. Andre Siddharth and Baba Indrajith scored tons for TN. Vidarbha and Baroda produced the closest scrap, with Vidarbha leading by 129 runs with 7 wickets in hand.
Ranji Trophy Round 5 Day 2 Scores – Stumps
| Match | Score at Stumps |
|---|---|
| Bengal vs Assam | Bengal 267/4 v Assam 200 |
| Odisha vs Nagaland | Nagaland 161 v Odisha 275 & 16/2 |
| Jharkhand vs Andhra | Andhra 224/2 v Jharkhand 328 |
| Rajasthan vs Delhi | Rajasthan 570/7d v Delhi 8/0 |
| J&K vs Hyderabad | J&K 170 & 275/4 v Hyderabad 121 |
| Himachal vs Chhattisgarh | Himachal 37/1 v Chhattisgarh 585/6d |
| Mumbai vs Pondicherry | Pondicherry 43/4 v Mumbai 630/5d |
| Haryana vs Services | Services 205 & 122/4 v Haryana 111 |
| Uttarakhand vs Gujarat | Uttarakhand 272 v Gujarat 324/8d & 5/0 |
| Railways vs Tripura | Railways 446/9 v Tripura 136 |
| Karnataka vs Chandigarh | Karnataka 547/8d v Chandigarh 72/4 |
| Madhya Pradesh vs Kerala | MP 155/6 v Kerala 281 |
| Saurashtra vs Goa | Saurashtra 585/7d v Goa 125/2 |
| Punjab vs Maharashtra | Punjab 125/4 v Maharashtra 350 |
| Vidarbha vs Baroda | Vidarbha 169 & 126/3 v Baroda 166 |
| Tamil Nadu vs Uttar Pradesh | UP 87/1 v TN 455 |
