The hits and misses in Ranji Trophy's neutral venues system

Midway through the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy season, there were murmurs of how Rishabh Pant could be the answer to India's search for a wicketkeeper after MS Dhoni or a replacement for the injured Wriddhiman Saha. After all, he had smashed two centuries and a triple century; at one point he was also the leading run-getter and smashing them at a strike rate of 150.34.

How did he get these runs? What are his strong areas? Is he a better player of pace or spin? How were the surfaces? With no match broadcast or streamed online, the answer to all these questions couldn't be ascertained entirely. The naked numbers were staring down. Doing it at the Under-19 level was one thing, replicating it at the first-class level another.

Pant was one of several players whose performances were talked about but, as is often the case in India these days, it was the pitches for the tournament that were the centre of attention, following BCCI's decision to introduce a system of neutral venues this season.

In one part of the country, runs were scored for fun. Elsewhere, wickets tumbled and matches finished in a little over two days. There were also a number of weather-affected matches and dull draws. We take a look at what has worked and what hasn't in the neutral venues system:

At the end of the 2016-17 group stage, 57 of the 115 matches were draws, compared to 51 of 108 at the same stage in 2015-16; the result percentage was down by 2%. Was the BCCI's objective of having more "result-oriented games on good pitches" achieved? The numbers do not indicate that. The decision to move away from the traditional home-and-away format was to eliminate two-day finishes, which was largely down to what the BCCI believed was pitch doctoring by the host association.

Yet, 13 games finished inside three days. One, between Assam and Rajasthan in Visakhapatnam, raised doubts over the quality of the surface. Assam's second innings lasted 20.2 overs, and their coach Sunil Joshi said that balls kept as low as ankle-high on the third day, when 17 wickets tumbled.

"I think we should have done a better job there," PR Vishwanathan, member of BCCI's grounds and pitches committee, told ESPNcricinfo. "It's a mistake and it should not have happened. There was also the Dhanbad game (Goa v Andhra). This year, it has happened in two or three games as compared to nearly 30 last year. The only difference is - I don't know about the Dhanbad pitch - but as far as the other pitches were concerned they are genuine mistakes. There is a difference between deliberately preparing bad pitches and making a genuine mistake. We are all human. They have to make sure they don't make the same mistakes again. But, definitely the intention is good this time."

Teams struggle away from home comfort

On pitches tailored to suit Saurashtra's strength in spin, in their backyard in Rajkot last season, Ravindra Jadeja picked up a mind-boggling six consecutive five-fors, and 37 wickets in three Ranji games as Saurashtra opened up a massive lead in Group C. They nearly came through unscathed until they were blown away by Mumbai on a green Pune track inside three days in the final. Coach Sitanshu Kotak admitted his team needed to become a better "green-track outfit."

This season, they were fighting relegation for most parts before two successive wins on the bounce, over Karnataka and Delhi, helped them finish seventh in the nine-team pool. In 2015-16, their spinners took 104 wickets between them; in this season, that number dropped significantly to 42. The numbers also reflected the struggles of Vidarbha, who were pushed outside their traditional spin strength. Their spinners took 41 wickets this season compared to the 96 last season. They fared only marginally better, finishing a spot ahead of Saurashtra.

In Punjab's case, their spinners took 22 wickets this season, compared to 82 in 2015-16. Conditions were so heavily skewed in favour of spin that Gurkeerat Mann, a part-time offspinner at best, picked up nine wickets in a two-day finish against Andhra last season. He hasn't picked up a first-class five-for since. His numbers this season: five wickets in eight games are somewhat reflective of the change in surfaces. Unlike spinners, their pace bowlers enjoyed better returns, picking 90 wickets. Barring Yuvraj Singh and Manan Vohra, who made 672 and 671 respectively, Punjab's batsmen also struggled.

While many teams struggled in conditions that didn't aid them, others prevailed, for instance, Tamil Nadu. They had built a reputation of following the 'spin to win' mantra, especially at home. On occasions last year, they went in with four-pronged spin attacks to bowl out opposition and set up games, leaving their fast bowlers with little to do.

This time, with conditions demanding different skillsets, they unearthed raw fast bowlers. T Natrajan and K Vignesh impressed in their debut season. The number of wickets taken by spinners nearly halved, while the wickets taken by fast bowlers doubled, indicating how team dynamics underwent a transformation.

That transformation also reflected in their batting: their average score this season was 328, an increase of 115 from 2015-16, the highest for any side. Kaushik Gandhi's 709 runs this season were accrued at 70.09 per innings. In comparison, the highest last season was 360 by B Indrajith at an average of 32.72.

Hyderabad, too, benefited as a shift from docile wickets at home helped their fast bowlers thrive. They have picked up 93 wickets this time, as compared to 43 last season, of which 33 were taken by pacer Ravi Kiran. The fast-bowling revival helped them push for outright results and they won four games to top Group C.

Yuzvendra Chahal, who has largely had to play a supporting role to Amit Mishra and Jayant Yadav in the Haryana side or has had to sit out because conditions in Lahli did not favour spin, was Haryana's highest wicket-taker with 28 dismissals in six matches, the most matches he has played in a season since his first-class debut in 2009. They scored 45 more runs on an average than they did last time, perhaps an indicator of their batsmen finding away conditions little more conducive than Lahli. The result? A quarter-final berth.

Last season, Shahbaz Nadeem was the highest wicket-taker with 51 wickets. He figures in the top five in this season, too, and, with 39 wickets and at least one more match guaranteed, he could come close to that mark. Shadab Jakati is the only other spinner in the top five, with 41 wickets, of which 11 came in the three-day finish in Dhanbad.

One season is too small a sample size to test if the concept is here to stay. But the board has also had a lot more than pitches to contend with. The logistics of transporting 28 teams continuously for over eight weeks to as many as 41 venues across the country have been a major challenge, even a hurdle at times.

Another season could perhaps give us a definitive clue if this system is indeed effective.