Pacers Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal and Sumit Mohanta shared seven wickets between them to power Bengal to an innings and 13-run win over Punjab in their Elite Group C match in Kolkata on Saturday. The bonus point victory helped Bengal to finish third in their group in this season’s Ranji Trophy. Bengal have 21 points from all seven matches, sitting behind already-qualified Kerala (28) and Haryana (26) in the standings. Starting from their overnight 64 for three, Punjab could not resist Bengal pacers Jaiswal (4/69) and Mohanta (3/29) and caved in for 139 in 35.4 overs.

Skipper Mayank Markande offered a token resistance with a 25-ball 31.

Nishant ton gives Haryana command

At the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Nishant Sindhu hammered 165 off just 184 balls (15×4, 4×6) as Haryana piled 450 in their first innings, taking a lead of 146 runs over Karnataka.

India batter KL Rahul made 43 off 67 balls (7×4), while Devdutt Padikkal remained unbeaten on 41 off 61 balls, as Karnataka meandered to 108 for three in 32 overs in their second innings.

The hosts now trail by 38 runs going into the final day. Karnataka are already out of contention for a knockout phase berth.

Brief scores –

At Kolkata: Punjab: 191 all out and 139 all out in 35.4 overs (Anmolpreet Singh 30, Mayank Markande 31) lost to Bengal: 343 all out in 92.4 overs by an innings and 13 runs.

At Bengaluru: Karnataka: 304 and 108/3 in 32 overs (KL Rahul 43, Devdutt Padikkal (batting) 41) vs Haryana (O/n: 232/5): 450 all out in 115.3 overs (Ankit Kumar 118, Nishant Sindhu 165; Prasidh Krishna 3/105, Hardik Raj 3/73).

At Indore: Madhya Pradesh: 670/7 declared vs Uttar Pradesh: 404/2 in 105 overs (Abhishek Goswami 186, Aryan Juyal (batting) 96, Madhvan Kaushik 80). 

Shardul Thakur and Tanush Kotian grabbed four wickets each as rampant Mumbai advanced to an innings and 456-run win over Meghalaya to top the Ranji Trophy Elite Group A table here on Saturday. Mumbai currently have 29 points, similar to Jammu & Kashmir but the defending champions are ahead by Net Run Rate — 1.74 as against the latter’s 1.59. However, J&K are currently in a position to grab at least three points against Baroda, and are poised to end the league engagements as group toppers.

Trailing by a mammoth 585 runs in the first innings here, Meghalaya batters could not trouble the scorers much for the second time in the game as they were shot out for 129 with Thakur taking 4/48 and Kotian returning 5.1-0-15-4.

Meghalaya had scored 86 in the first innings against which Mumbai had piled up 671 for seven declared to lay the platform for a victory with bonus point.

While the victory was Mumbai’s largest in terms of an innings in the Ranji Trophy history, it also bolstered their chances of reaching the quarterfinal which will start on February 8.

With Meghalaya resuming on the third day placed precariously at 29/2, it took only one session for Mumbai to take the remaining eight wickets despite resistance from the likes of Kishan Lyndoh (39) and Anirudh B (24).

Brief scores: Meghalaya 86 and 129 in 30.1 overs (Kishan Lyndoh 39, Anirudh B 24; Shardul Thakur 4/48, Tanush Kotian 4/15) lost to Mumbai 671/7 decl. by an innings and 456 runs. 

Fans turned up in huge numbers at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday as India star Virat Kohli made his domestic cricket comeback. It was a return after 12 years for Kohli, who without a surprise hogged immense limelight on the opening day of Delhi’s Ranji Trophy match against Railways. Multiple videos are going viral on social media involving Kohli and one of them has the fans demanding the star to be given the task of bowling. The fans could not see the batting of Kohli on the opening day as Delhi captain Ayush Badoni won the toss and opted to bowl. Railways were bundled out for 241 and Delhi reached 41 for 1 in reply at stumps.

As the fans were eagerly waiting to see Kohli in batting, they demanded him to roll his arms over. Kohli, who was fielding in the slips, didn’t react to it as he was busy encouraging his bowlers.

Watch it here:

RCB..RCB..Kohli Ko Bowling Do Chants At Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi.#ViratKohli #RCB #RanjiTrophy @imVkohli pic.twitter.com/GMQU4E5MFL

— virat_kohli_18_club (@KohliSensation) January 30, 2025

Upendra Yadav negated Delhi’s early advantage with a resolute 95 to steer Uttar Pradesh to 241 on day one of their Ranji Trophy tie dominated by Virat Kohli’s grand return to domestic red-ball cricket after 12 years.

The pace trio of Navdeep Saini, Siddhant Sharma and Money Grewal exploited the early morning conditions to reduce Railways to 66 for five in the first session before Upendra and veteran spinner Karn Sharma (50 off 105) forged a 104-run stand for the sixth wicket.

Kohli’s towering presence on the field fired up players on both sides with an unprecedented fan attendance adding to the intensity.

With more than 12,000 people in the stands for a Ranji Trophy game that would be otherwise played in front of empty stands, Upendra made a big impact after the fine show by Delhi pacers.

(With PTI Inputs)

India’s star batter Virat Kohli is all set to make his domestic comeback after a long gap of over 12 years. The 36-year-old’s last appearance came in the Ranji Trophy back in November 2012 against Uttar Pradesh. It will be Delhi’s game against Railways from January 30 onwards this year that will see the right-handed batter playing in domestic cricket again. He will feature under the captaincy of a young Ayush Badoni at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. Keeping the interest of the fans in mind, the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) has made the entry free for fans, however, it has asked the visiting spectators to get there with their Aadhaar card and its photocopy.

“The Gautam Gambhir Stand will be open for the spectators. The fans can enter from Gate No 16 and 17. Gate No 6 will also be open for the DDCA members and guests. We are expecting a 10,000 crowd for the first day,” DDCA secretary Ashok Kumar Sharma told The Indian Express.

“It’s a free entry. The fans just need to bring their original copy of their Aadhaar card and its photocopy as well. The arrangements for the fans has been made. It will be like any international or an IPL match,” he added.

Kohli wouldn’t mind getting a big one before the Champions Trophy which actually solves his purpose of playing this particular game.

While the BCCI has made it mandatory for all players to turn up in Ranji Trophy, the result of this particular game will have no bearing on whether Kohli will be picked in the Indian team after the Champions Trophy.

Kohli’s magnetic presence has not only lifted the profile of Ranji Trophy but also the Delhi team’s sagging spirits as it eyes a winning end to an otherwise listless campaign in the final group D game against Railways starting on Thursday. 

Interestingly, Railways (17 points from six games) have more than a fair shot at making the knock-out stages if they beat Delhi with bonus points and take their tally to 24.

Delhi (14 from six games) only have mathematical impossibility to rely upon but the 10,000 odd crowd expected to watch isn’t bothered about the results.

Tamil Nadu (25 points from six games), Chandigarh (19 from six games) and Saurashtra (18 from six games) are in a better position compared to these two teams in terms of probability of qualification.

(With PTI Inputs)

Shreyas Iyer performed poorly with the bat in Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy game against Jammu and Kashmir at Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy BKC, Mumbai. He scored 11 and 17 across the two innings during the match. Criticising Iyer for his failure, former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali slammed him for his shot selection during the first innings. The right-handed batter was caught out at wide mid-on when trying to hit a fuller delivery off pacer Yudhvir Singh over the fielder. What made it look worse was the fact that Iyer attempted the shot when Mumbai were already six down in their innings. Ali picked it as the easiest way to dismiss the India batter in the Champions Trophy 2025.

“The worst shot in that innings (Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy match) was of Shreyas Iyer. The team lost six wickets and the mid-on was pushed back, but you still hit it right there. The easiest way to dismiss Shreyas Iyer in the Champions Trophy is to have the mid-on back because he is surely going to go for a big hit,” Ali said on his YouTube channel.

Shardul Thakur and Tanush Kotian led Mumbai’s fightback in the side’s game against Jammu and Kashmir on Friday. The game looked all over for Mumbai when the side was reduced to 101 for 7 in its second innings, with a slender lead of 15 runs. However, a heroic partnership between Shardul and Tanush bailed Mumbai out of trouble.

The duo added an unbeaten 173-run stand for the eighth wicket to bring Mumbai back into the game. Shardul scored his second First-Class hundred while Kotian smashed a gritty fifty. By the end of the play on Day 2, Shardul and Kotian were unbeaten at the scores of 113 and 58, respectively, with Mumbai extending their lead to 188.

Mumbai vs Jammu and Kashmir Live Updates, Ranji Trophy Day 2: India skipper Rohit Sharma has shown some redemption in the ongoing Ranji Trophy match for Mumbai against Jammu and Kashmir. After losing his wicket for just 3 in the first innings, he is now stitching a good opening partnership with Yashasvi Jaiswal. On Day 1, Mumbai were bundled out for 120. However, the Ajinkya Rahane-led side gave a strong fight and bowled out J&K for 206. Electing to bat on a green-top wicket proved costly for the Ajinkya Rahane-led side as Mumbai were shot out for a mere 120, and in reply, J&K finished the opening day’s play at 174/7 for a lead of 54 runs. As many as 17 wickets fell in the day’s play. Shardul Thakur saved Mumbai some blushes as his 57-ball 51 with five fours and two sixes dragged them from a perilous 47/7 past the 100-run mark. (Live Scorecard)