Ranji blog: Hooda passes 150 as Rajasthan make Mumbai toil

Deepak Hooda has notched up a double-century against Mumbai in Jaipur. Rajasthan are without Deepak Chahar (injured) and Khaleel Ahmed (India A duty) but they continue to dominate domestic giants Mumbai. Hooda and Kartik Sharma, who has hit a hundred of his own, have stretched Rajasthan's lead to 275.

Jharkhand left-arm spin-bowling allrounder has bagged five wickets to induce a Nagaland collapse. From 61 for 0, Nagaland slump to 133 for 7. Sushant Mishra and Manishi have supported Roy by picking up a wicket apiece. Roy doesn't turn the ball big but usually keeps the stumps in play. He's also a capable batter. His effort with the ball has raised Jharkhand's hopes of an innings win in Ranchi.

Kartik Sharma has raised his second first-class century off 158 balls in his sixth match. He has hit nine fours and two sixes against a Mumbai attack that includes Deshpande, Thakur and Mulani. He's a hard-hitting keeper-batter from Rajasthan and despite having played just a handful of games at senior level, he's on the radar of IPL franchises. Reckon he had a stint with CSK during IPL 2025.

Hooda, meanwhile, is nearing his double-century. He has hit form in red-ball cricket after a difficult time during IPL 2025.

After Koushik's two wickets helped Goa dismiss Punjab for 325, Goa have started their innings in commanding fashion. Suyash Prabhudessai and Manthan Khutkar have struck up an unbroken double-century stand. Punjab have used seven bowlers so far but still no joy for them in New Chandigarh. Uday Saharan's leadership is being tested in his very first game as captain.

After notching up his 150 post lunch off 204 balls, Ajay Rohera falls soon after to fast bowler Simarjeet Singh. Puducherry's lead, though, has crossed 100. They are 396 for 6 against Delhi at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Jayant Yadav is still unbeaten on 57. In all, Simarjeet has claimed three wickets in this innings.

Vihari has stood out amid another Tripura collapse, bringing up a half-century off 112 balls. It's Vihari's first fifty for Tripura after starting the season with scores of 16,7,33 and 0. Vijay Shankar, their other professional, has also got off to a start against Bengal in Agartala. Can the two senior pros rescue Tripura?

Shami is yet to get on the wickets column while his brother Kaif has already bagged three wickets.

Parth Vats, the Haryana allrounder, has had a dream start to first-class cricket. After winning the Player-of-the-match awards in his first two games, he has helped Haryana pull ahead in his third match, against Gujarat in Ahmedabad. He walked out to bat when Haryana were reduced to 112 for 5. He has made 39* to put Haryana in the lead in reply to Gujarat's 163. There are already a whole lot of talented left-arm spin-bowling allrounders around in India, and Vats has joined the list.

Odisha fold for 151 in their first innings after Andhra had posted 475 for 7 dec. K Saiteja, Saurabh Kumar, who had moved from UP ahead of the season, and T Vijay collect three wickets each to hasten Odisha's first-innings collapse. Odisha go at lunch at 7 for 0 in their second innings. They're still 317 runs behind Andhra in Cuttack. Coach Gary Stead and captain Ricky Bhui will be pleased with this effort from Andhra. They seem to be on course for their first outright win this season.

R Samarth, who has already hit a half-century, puts Vidarbha in the lead against TN in Coimbatore, with an open-faced drive to the left of Trilog Nag at sweeper cover. Vidarbha coach Usman Ghani applauds from the dressing room. Vidarbha have more reason to celebrate: Rathod is approaching a half-century of his own. He has rattled off seven fours already and is having a strike rate of over 80. Barring Sai Kishore, TN's attack has lacked penetration.

NP Basil has since retired hurt. Kerala's professional B Aparajith has joined Sachin Baby in the middle as Kerala look to arrest their slump in Mangalapuram. Kaverappa has picked up three of the four wickets to fall, with Vyshak claiming the other. Kerala are 69 for 4 in reply to Karnataka's 586 for 5 dec.

Rajasthan are running Mumbai ragged in Jaipur. Deepak Hooda and Kartik Sharma have extended Rajasthan's lead past 100 after Mumbai were bowled out for 254 on the first day. Kartik has passed his fifty while Hooda has just reached his 150. Kartik is a hard-hitting wicket-keeper batter who is on the radar of IPL franchises.

After dismissing Delhi for 294, thanks to their captain Udeshi's 4 for 36, Puducherry have pulled ahead in Delhi. Ajay Rohera's maiden century for Puducherry and second overall in first-class cricket has given them the lead. Aman Khan, the former Mumbai allrounder who has had stints with KKR and DC in the IPL, smashed 66 off 47 balls in an 84-run stand with Rohera before falling to Sumit Mathur. Veteran Jayant Yadav is now building the lead along with Rohera. Puducherry are 323 for 5 in 68 overs in reply to Delhi's 294.

Shami is yet to strike, but his brother has sliced through Tripura's line-up with three wickets in Agartala. His figures read: 5-2-6-3. Porel has been responsible for the other wicket to fall. Tripura are 35 for 4 in reply to Bengal's 336. Two professionals, Vihari and Swapnil Singh, are out in the middle for Tripura.

TN captain R Sai Kishore strikes early on the third morning. Dhruv Shorey gives him the charge, but Sai Kishore bests him with dip, turn and bounce, and has the advancing batter stumped for 82. Shorey could add just two runs to his overnight tally. Yash Rathod has joined Samarth, who is approaching his half-century in Coimbatore.

In the absence of Gurjapneet, who is out with a niggle, TN's bowling seems over reliant on Sai Kishore. The captain has taken all three wickets that have fallen so far. The other spinners - Chandrasekar and Ali - haven't been penetrative despite some assistance from the Coimbatore surface.

TN can't afford a second successive defeat at home. They had tuned up for the season with the Buchi Babu tournament in Chennai and camps in Coimbatore and Tiruppur, but that prep hasn't translated into results. In the previous round, they were run ragged by Nagaland in Bengaluru. Do they need a revamp?

K Saiteja, who is playing only his second first-class match, has struck this morning for Andhra to remove Odisha's Govinda Poddar for 14 in Cuttack. He has picked three of the five Odisha wickets to fall so far after capturing a four-wicket haul on debut against Baroda in the previous round. Left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar, who has moved away from UP, has claimed two wickets, including that of captain Senapati (who was with CSK in the past). Odisha are 103 for 5 in response to Andhra's 475 for 7 dec in Cuttack.

No wickets for Shami in his four-over opening spell. But his younger brother Mohammed Kaif and Ishan Porel have struck for Bengal, getting rid of both the Tripura openers. Ishan's cousin Abishek is captaining Bengal in this round in the absence of Abhimanyu Easwaran, who is on India A duty. Hosts Tripura are 29 for 2 in the tenth over in Agartala. They need their professionals Hanuma Vihari and Vijay Shankar to step up.

Mohammed Shami takes the new ball for Bengal after they were bowled out for 336 on the third morning against Tripura in Agartala. He fell for 5 yesterday but has a bigger job to do with the ball.

In the previous round, he had bowled a match-winning spell to deliver Bengal's second consecutive win. At Eden Gardens, Shami finished with 5 for 38 - his 13th first-class five-for - as Bengal beat Gujarat by 144 runs. He finished with eight wickets in the match across 28.3 overs.

"When you perform like this, it feels good both mentally and physically," Shami said. "Coming out of a difficult phase and performing well gives a lot of satisfaction. The time after the [2023] World Cup was tough and painful.

"But then I played the Ranji Trophy, white-ball cricket, the IPL, Champions Trophy, Duleep Trophy [since his comeback late last year]. Now my rhythm is back to where it was before. I can clearly feel there's still a lot of cricket left in me."

Hello and welcome to ESPNcricinfo's coverage of day three of the third round of the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy. Three batters notched up double-centuries across venues yesterday. Will this be a day for the bowlers? Let's find out.

Rasheed, bowlers keep Andhra on top vs Odisha in Cuttack

Mohan double-ton powers Jharkhand vs Nagaland in Ranchi

No play possible between Baroda and UP in wet Vadodara

Defending champs Vidarbha boss TN in Coimbatore

Saurashtra off to a quick start vs Maharashtra in wet Nasik

Prabhudessai fifty buoys Goa against Punjab in New Chandigarh

Bhatia, Venkatesh Iyer boost MP vs Chandigarh in Indore

Nair, Smaran hit double-tons for Karnataka vs Kerala in Mangalapuram

Gharami tons up for Bengal vs Tripura on another rain-hit day in Agartala

Railways vs Assam: another rain-hit day in Guwahati

Gujarat, Haryana battle for first-innings advantage in Ahmedabad

Services collapse vs Uttarakhand in Delhi

Khajuria 190 counters Ravi Kiran's seven-for in J&K vs Chhattisgarh in Raipur

Puducherry pull ahead with Rohera's ton vs Delhi in Delhi

Rajasthan build lead with Hooda's ton vs Mumbai in Jaipur

Milind 94* rallies Hyderabad against HP in Nadaun

After dismissing Delhi for 294, Puducherry are aiming to take the first-innings lead in Delhi. Ajay Rohera, the former MP keeper-batter, has led the way for Puducherry with a century. It's his first first-class century since his 267* on debut for MP vs Hyderabad in Indore in 2018. Puducherry are less than 70 runs away from the first-innings lead.

Hooda had a rough IPL season with CSK, but he's back to business in the Ranji Trophy. He brings up his second hundred in three games this season and makes Mumbai toil in Jaipur. Kartik Sharma, who may be on the radar of IPL franchises, has run away to a quick start. Rajasthan are 312 for 4 in response to Mumbai's 254.

Smaran emulates Nair in scoring a double-century. He gets to the landmark off 358 balls, with 15 fours and three sixes. Karnataka are moving towards 600 against Kerala in Mangalapuram. They're looking to bat once and bat big. Will the twin double-hundreds translate into an outright win for Karnataka?

Debutant Sachin Yadav has fallen short of a century by eight runs. Run out by Musheer Khan, but Deepak Hooda and keeper-batter Kunal Singh Rathore have dragged Rajasthan closer to parity against Mumbai in Jaipur. Rajasthan are now just 21 runs away from grabbing the first-innings lead. Deshpande is the only Mumbai bowler to have taken a wicket. It's been hard work for the domestic giants.

After being on 76 for 2, Gujarat have subsided to 142 for 7 against Haryana in Ahmedabad. Opener Aarya Desai's dismissal has triggered a slide. The spinners have done the job for Haryana. Nishant Sindhu, Nikhil Kashyap and Parth Vats share five wickets among them at the Gujarat college cricket ground.

Watch out for Vats, a left-arm spin-bowling allrounder. The 21-year-old bagged the Player-of-the-match awards in his first two Ranji games.

Jayant Yadav has moved away from Haryana, but there's a new allrounder emerging. Sindhu also has a lot of potential and has been on the India A radar.

MP were 68 for 3 against Chandigarh in Indore when Harpreet Singh Bhatia had walked out to bat. He then watched them slip further to 80 for 4. He responded by adding 141 with Venkatesh Iyer, who scored 65 before falling lbw. Bhatia, though, has pressed onto make a century. MP are moving towards 300, with five wickets in hand. Jagjit Singh Sandhu has picked up three wickets for Chandigarh.

Folks, we have another double-centurion in this round: Jharkhand's Shikhar Mohan. He has got to the landmark off 298 balls against Nagaland in Ranchi. With Ishan Kishan away with the India A side - he was added to the side as cover for the injured Jagadeesan - Mohan has stepped up for Jharkhand. This double follows his 60 against defending champs Vidarbha in the previous round in Nagpur. He was a prolific scorer for Jharkhand at age-group level. He is now making a smooth transition into the Ranji Trophy. Virat Singh is gone for 105 but Kumar Kushagra is keeping Mohan good company.

Finally, some respite for Kerala in Mangalapuram. NP Basil stops Karun Nair's knock on 233 off 389 balls in the afternoon session. It ends a massive 343-run stand with Smaran, who has crossed 150. Abhinav Manohar has joined Nair in the middle, with Karnataka approaching 500. They're aiming to bat once, bat big, and push for an innings win.

After racking up scores of 183 and 176 in the first two rounds, opener Aman Mokhade brings up a half-century against TN in Coimbatore with a neatly whipped single on the back foot to the midwicket region off Sai Kishore. Vidarbha are without Danish Malewar, Yash Rathod and Atharva Taide - all are injured - but they still have depth and Mokhade is a shining example of it. He has been comfortable against both pace and spin on a Coimbatore surface that has been offering some turn and variable bounce. Mokhade has hit six fours so far, with the pick of them being a flat, hard sweep off Sai Kishore. Mokhade looks good for another big one. Ominous signs for TN, who were run ragged by Nagaland in the previous round.

Joy for Karun Nair in Mangalapuram. Disappointment for Khajuria in Raipur. The Jammu and Kashmir opener has been dismissed ten short of his double-hundred. Spinner Aditya Sarwate has bowled him for 190 off 344 balls. J&K are 350 for 9 against Chhattisgarh. Ravi Kiran has been the pick of the bowlers for the hosts, claiming seven wickets so far.

There's no stopping Karun Nair in Indian domestic cricket. He has converted his second successive 150-plus score into a double-hundred against Kerala in Mangalapuram. This is his fifth first-class double-century and third since 2024.

Along the way, Nair has also crossed 9,000 first-class runs. He is the sixth Karnataka player to the landmark after Rahul Dravid, G Vishwanath, Brijesh Patel, Syed Kirmani, and Robin Uthappa. It's been a rousing homecoming for Nair after his stint with Ranji champions Vidarbha.

Left out of the India and India A squads, he serves another reminder to the selectors. Nair believes that he "deserves" to be part of India's Test team

“Obviously, it is quite disappointing, but I know that I deserve to be there after the last two years I have had," Nair told reporters during the last round. "People might have their own opinions, but for me personally, I can have my own. My own opinion is that I deserve a lot better."

At the other end, Smaran is also going strong and is moving towards his 150. Karnataka continue to boss Kerala in Mangalapuram.

Tripura captain Murasingh denies Gandhi a maiden first-class hundred. Gharami, meanwhile, is seven runs away from the landmark. Bengal may need to beat both Tripura and the weather if they are to post an outright win in this round.

Despite being depleted by the absence of some of their stars, Rajasthan continue to challenge Mumbai in Jaipur. They're now eyeing the first-innings lead after Mumbai suffered a collapse and were eventually dismissed for 254. In reply, Rajasthan are 124 for 1 at lunch on day two. Deshpande trapped Tomar lbw early but debutant Sachin Yadav and captain Mahipal Lomror have been steady since. Sachin has passed fifty on his first-class debut against the domestic giants.

Four sessions in, no play possible in wet Nasik. The wait to watch Shaw and Gaikwad continues. An inspection has been scheduled for 1pm local time.

From an overnight 222 for 3, Andhra have pulled ahead to 333 for 5 at lunch on day two. No.3 Shaik Rasheed has held firm for his team in Cuttack, and is now six runs away from a century. Bharat fell short of the landmark yesterday. Can Rasheed get to it today? Sambit Baral has been the pick of the bowlers for Odisha, returning 2 for 46 in 20 overs.

From an overnight 64 for 1, MP slumped to 80 for 4 on the second morning, but Harpreet Singh Bhatia and Venkatesh Iyer have struck up an unbroken half-century stand to help the hosts recover in Indore against Chandigarh.

Bhatia has passed fifty while Iyer is currently on 25 off 51 balls. Jagjit Singh Sandhu has taken three of the four MP wickets to fall.

No Yash Thakur? No problem for Vidarbha. Nachiket Bhute steps up with a five-wicket haul and has TN collapsing from an overnight 252 for 2 to 291. He has been impressive with his induckers - both against right-handers and lefties.

Shahrukh Khan whacked him over long-on for six earlier in the morning, but he bounced back and got one skid through his defences. It kept low and surpised SRK. The variable bounce on offer will keep TN's bowlers interested.

Arjun Sharma, the left-arm spinner, who took one of the two hat-tricks in the shortest Ranji game, in the previous round, comes away with a four-wicket haul in this round. Vikas Yadav, the other left-arm spinner, grabs five as Services bowl Uttarakhand out for 257 in 110.2 overs in Delhi. Services have been the early pace-setters in Group C, with 13 points from two matches so far. No team has as many points across groups

Chhattisgarh professional Ravi Kiran, the former Hyderabad seamer, has claimed seven of the eight Jammu & Kashmir wickets to fall in Raipur; allrounder Ajay Mandal took the other wicket. Ravi Kiran is putting in a big shift.

Auqib Nabi, who clattered a maiden fifty in the previous round, is gone for 6 here. Khajura, the opener, however has crossed a century and is batting on amid the slide.

Left out of India's Test side after the England tour, Karun Nair has returned to his home state, Karnataka, and knocked off back-to-back 150-plus scores. He ran out of partners against Goa in Shimoga in the previous round, but he's found ample support in this round. At the other end, R Smaran is also going strong after notching up a century of his own. This is Smaran's third first-class ton in his 11th match.

Shashank Kishore caught up with Smaran earlier this year

Delhi's Sanat Sangwan is currently the highest run-getter in this Ranji season, with 446 runs in five innings at an average of 111.50. These are his scores: 211*, 56, 79, 1 and 99 in this round.

Here's Daya Sagar with a lowdown on Delhi's new run machine: Sanat Sangwan, who comes from Delhi’s famous Sonnet Club, is a left-handed opening batter. Unlike many young players in modern-day cricket, he is a classical batter who enjoys spending time at the crease. He has performed well for Delhi in every age-group category since Under-16 cricket and earned his place in Delhi’s Ranji Trophy team last season.

In his second Ranji match, he played a match-saving knock of 83 runs off 231 balls against Tamil Nadu when, after enforcing the follow-on, Tamil Nadu’s bowlers, led by Washington Sundar, were making life tough for Delhi batters on a deteriorating fourth day track. That innings was a fine example of his determination and character, showing that he can play the long innings in red-ball cricket.

After scoring 385 runs in 11 innings at an average of 38.50 in the previous Ranji season, Sangwan has been in red-hot form this season. After the day’s play, he said, “Getting out on 99 didn’t feel good, but it felt nice to spend time on a green pitch where the ball was moving around. My aim was to hold one end and bat throughout the day. In red-ball cricket, there’s very little room for mistakes. I try to minimise those mistakes and play as long as possible.”

Vidarbha have struck twice within the first half hour on day two in Coimbatore, dismissing both overnight batters B Indrajith and M Shahrukh Khan. Bhute has got rid of both batters with induckers. The one to Shahrukh, in particular, shot low and left him surprised. It shot low from a length. Indrajith was bowled off an inside edge from a similar length. No century for him. He has to go for 96. TN slip to 271 for 6 on the second morning. Captain Sai Kishore joins allrounder Mohamed Ali in the middle.

Former Tripura allrounder Rajesh Banik has died in a road accident at Anandanagar in west Tripura, PTI has reported.

He was 40 and is survived by his father, mother and brother. Banik, who made his Ranji Trophy debut for Tripura in the 2002-03 season, was among the state’s leading cricketers of his time and later served as a selector for the Under-16 state team.

Born on December 12, 1984, Banik was a right-hand batter and occasional legspinner. He went on to play 42 first-class matches, all for Tripura, scoring 1469 runs at an average of 19.32, and also scored 378 runs in 24 List A matches and 203 runs in 18 T20s, all between the 2001-02 and 2017-18 seasons.

A contemporary of Irfan Pathan and Ambati Rayudu, Banik was their team-mate in the India Under-15 team in the Asian Cricket Council Under-15 tournament in Kuala Lumpur in 2000 and also toured England with the India Under-15s the same year where, again, Rayudu and Pathan were among his colleagues.

The Tripura Cricket Association (TCA) paid tribute to the former cricketer. “This is very unfortunate that we have lost a talented cricketer and selector of the Under-16 cricket team. We are shocked. May his soul rest in peace,” TCA secretary Subarata Dey told reporters.

Jharkhand had lost two early wickets on day one - and were without their regular captain Ishan Kishan - but they have recovered well, thanks to opener Shikhar Mohan's half-century. He has got there in 106 balls, with seven fours. After managing 10 on debut against TN, he has crafted back-to-back fifties against Vidarbha and now Nagaland. Stand-in captain Virat Singh is keeping him good company.

Overnight rains have resulted in a wet outfield in Agartala. Sudip Gharami and Habib Gandhi have to wait even further for their centuries. Bengal's overnight score: 171 for 1 in 60 overs, with Gharami on 70* and Gandhi on 82*

Hello and welcome to ESPNcricinfo's coverage of the second day of the third round of the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy. Veteran Karun Nair seems unstoppable - he's eyeing up a double-century - while some youngsters are also making the step up to this level. Former India Under-19 World Cup-winning captain Uday Saharan marked his captaincy debut for Punjab with a ton while rookie Rajasthan fast bowler Ashok Sharma sliced through Mumbai's middle order. TN's Pradosh Ranjan Paul, meanwhile, stood up to defending champions Vidarbha and made a fine hundred on the opening day. What does day two have in store for us?

Bharat, Reddy score fifties for Andhra vs Odisha in Cuttack

No play possible on first day between Baroda and UP in wet Vadodara

Back-to-back tons for Paul as TN claim opening-day honours vs Vidarbha in Coimbatore

Nagaland strike twice vs Jharkhand on rain-hit day in Ranchi

First day washed out between Maharashtra and Saurashtra in Nasik

Saharan marks captaincy debut with ton for Punjab vs Goa in New Chandigarh

Back-to-back tons for Karun Nair as Karnataka thrive vs Kerala in Mangalapuram

Rain, bad light hold sway in MP-Chandigarh fixture in Indore

Gharami, Gandhi fifties drive Bengal vs Tripura in Agartala

Only nine overs possible in Assam-Railways clash in Guwahati

First day washed out between Gujarat and Haryana in Ahmedabad

Rawat, Suchith prop up Uttarakhand against Services in Delhi

Khajuria, Dogra fifties boost J&K against Chhattisgarh in Raipur

Sangwan 99 leads Delhi's progress against Puducherry in Delhi

Mumbai collapse after Jaiswal's fifty against Rajasthan in Jaipur

Vasisht's ton rallies HP against Hyderabad in Nadaun

Taking over captaincy from Naman Dhir, Uday Saharan revives Punjab with a century against Goa in New Chandigarh. Despite wickets falling around him - Punjab have lost five wickets so far - Saharan held firm for Punjab, blunting Goa's attack after they had made early inroads. First first-class hundred for Saharan in his fourth innings. After leading India to the Under-19 World Cup title last year, Saharan adds another feather to his cap. Can he keep going for Punjab?

Akshay Karnewar is a player with rare skills in Indian domestic cricket. He's an ambidextrous spinners and is a capable batter too. He's bowling left-arm fingerspin to the right-handed B Indrajith and right-arm offspin to the left-handed Pradosh Ranjan Paul in Coimbatore.

Here is one from our archives on Karnewar

Paul, meanwhile has notched up back-to-back tons for TN. He has combined well with Indrajith to snatch the advantage from Vidarbha's grasp.

Rohit Rayudu, Ambati Rayudu's cousin, has picked up three wickets with his offspin for Hyderabad to expose HP's lower order in Nadaun. Rohit was in excellent form in the pre-season Buchi Babu tournament, which Hyderabad won in Chennai. Tanay Thyagarajan, the left-arm fingerspinner, has done his bit by taking two wickets. HP were 212 for 7, and have now moved past 250 wuthout losing further wickets. Akash Vasisht, who has been part of Rajasthan Royals in the past, is holding HP's innings together.

Both Pradosh Ranjan Paul and B Indrajith are out of the India A reckoning. Both batters didn't have great Ranji seasons in 2024-25. They have now joined forces against Ranji champs Vidarbha in Coimbatore to remind us that they can be good enough for the next level, but they need to be more consistent, especially with the competition for spots heating up.

Paul, especially, has hit consistency this season. After scoring a career-best 201* against Nagaland in the previous round, Paul is approaching another century in this round. Indrajith has also passed fifty and is moving towards a ton of his own. The pair has helped TN recover after they were reduced to 73 for 3 in the morning session.

Sure, Karnewar bowled Andre Siddarth with a beauty but are Vidarbha missing their premier spinner Harsh Dubey? Dubey is currently with the India A side in Bengaluru.

He is familiar with a number of TN players, thanks to his stints in Chennai's robust first-division league. Paul, in fact, used to be Dubey's team-mate at Vijay CC.

After making TN grind for the first-innings lead in the previous round in Bengaluru, Nagaland have made early inroads against Jharkhand in Ranchi. After a delayed start, they dismissed Sharandeep Singh and Kumar Suraj, leaving Jharkhand at 49 for 2 in the 15th over. Nagaland continue to show that they belong to the Elite Group.

In the absence of Ishan Kishan, who was belatedly called up to the India A team as cover for the injured N Jagadeesan, Virat Singh leads Jharkhand in this round. The hosts need their captain to step up with the bat too, especially after the early wobble.

Another game, another rescue act from Karun Nair. He walked into bat after Karnataka were reduced to 13 for 2 within eight overs. Nair has now brought up a century, with support from KL Shrijith and R Smaran. This is Nair's second successive century and third fifty-plus score in four Ranji innings since returning to his home state, Karnataka, from Vidarbha. He has made Kerala's attack toil away in Mangalapuram.

Bengal make slow but steady progress against Tripura in Agartala until bad light intervenes. They are 171 for 1 in 60 overs, with Gharami on 70* and Gandhi on 82*. After posting twin fifties against Gujarat at Eden Gardens in the previous round, Gharami is looking for his first hundred of the season. But both Gharami and Gandhi will have to wait for their landmarks. Murasingh has cycled through his bowling options, with only seamer Abhijit Sarkar managing a wicket so far.

Musheer Khan falls just short of the landmark. Gone for 49 off 131 balls. Jaiswal's wicket has triggered a collapse as Mumbai go from 100 for 0 to 156 for 6. Rookie fast bowler Ashok Sharma has been responsible for three of those wickets in Jaipur.

Mumbai, however, still have batting depth in the form of captain Shardul Thakur, Shams Mulani and Himanshu Singh. Count Mumbai's lower order out at your own peril.

In the absence of Deepak Chahar and Khaleel Ahmed, rookie fast bowler Ashok Sharma has grabbed his chance for Rajasthan, taking out Ajinkya Rahane, Sarfaraz Khan and Siddhesh Lad in Jaipur. He has had all three batters caught by keeper Kunal Singh Rathore. Both the bowler and the keeper are part of Rajasthan Royals in the IPL.

Ashok hails from Rampura village near Jaipur and caught the attention of Dishant Yagnik, who was part of RR's coaching staff, with his sharp pace. After a stint as a net bowler with RR, he broke into their main squad. Ashok has also had a stint with KKR in the IPL.

Mumbai go from 100 for 0 to 150 for 5 in Jaipur. Musheer Khan, meanwhile, has managed to stick around amid the slump. He's on 46* off 125 balls.

It's been a happy homecoming for Karun Nair. Since his return to Karnataka from Vidarbha, he has posted scores of 73, 8, 174*, and now 50* off 107 balls, with five fours and a six.

Allrounder B Aparajith, though, gets KL Shrijith at the other end for 65 off 110 balls, ending a 123-run stand with Nair. R Smaran, another bright talent, has joined Nair in the middle against Kerala in Mangalapuram.

Andhra have started well against Odisha in Cuttack, with KS Bharat and Abhishek Reddy striking up an unbroken century stand for the first wicket. While Bharat has notched up his third fifty-plus score this season, Reddy is working his way towards his first fifty of the season.

Earlier this year, Bharat went to the UK to play amateur cricket to keep himself busy after finding no takers during IPL 2025.

Even that stint only happened to come to him by chance. With Vidarbha's Apoorv Wankhade unable to secure a visa, because he hadn't played enough first-class cricket to qualify, Ollie Steele, captain of Dulwich (the club Bharat played for), rang up an agency that has a good database of available overseas players. It's during this process that they'd identified that Bharat had played enough games to qualify. Bharat ended up obtaining the visa and upon return to India, he had a strike rate of 183.19 across six innings in the Andhra Premier League. He then started the Ranji Trophy strongly under a new coach, Gary Stead. Will he attract a bid in the upcoming IPL mini-auction?

Just before lunch in Jaipur, Mumbai lose Yashasvi Jaiswal for 67 off 97 balls. He falls after hitting eight fours and a six. In the absence of Deepak Chahar (injured) and Khaleel (India A duty), Aniket Choudhary has stepped up with a spell of 9-3-15-1. Some joy for Rajasthan before the break.

Ranji champs Vidarbha continue to chip away at TN in Coimbatore. Just before lunch, Akshay Karnewar castles C Andre Siddarth with a terrific delivery. He ventures wide of the crease, gets it to drift towards middle. Karnewar tricks Siddarth into playing for the inward drift, but the ball turns away sharply past the outside edge near the shoulder of the bat to hit the top of off. Dream delivery for a left-arm spinner. Karnewar, btw, is a unique talent who can also bowl right-arm offspin. TN are 81 for 3 at lunch. Pradosh Ranjan Paul, who struck a double-century in the previous round, is unbeaten on 38 off 83 balls.

There was no room at the top for Priyansh Arya. But he started brightly from No.4. He ran away to 40 off 28 balls but Puducherry's professional Jayant Yadav stops him in his tracks. Gone for 40 off 30 balls.

Karnataka lost both their openers inside eight overs, but KL Shrijith and Karun Nair have countered those early strikes in Mangalapuram, Kerala's newest Ranji venue. After bagging a duck against Goa in the previous round, Shrijith has rattled away to a fifty off 76 balls. He's a serious talent and is seen as an all-format player for Karnataka.

Shashank Kishore caught up with Shrijith earlier this year. Here is Shrijith's story.

At the other end, Nair is firm and is moving to a fifty of his own, albeit at a slower pace.

India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal has tuned up for the upcoming home Test series against SA with a half-century off 80 balls for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy.

Jaiswal had started slowly - he was on 1 off 16 balls at one point - but has picked up the pace since. This is Jaiswal's first appearance for Mumbai since re-committing to the team in May, after he had initially sought an NOC to play for Goa.

Musheer Khan has also bedded in against a depleted Rajasthan attack in Jaipur. Deepak Chahar is reportedly out with injury while Khaleel Ahmed and Manav Suthar are on India A duty in Bengaluru.

Rahul Chahar, though, is in for his first game of the Ranji season after grabbing a match haul of ten wickets for Surrey in September.

After being asked to bat first by Tripura in Agartala, Bengal have been slow but steady, reaching 68 for 1 in 29 overs. They are without their regular captain Abhimanyu Easwaran, who will feature in the second four-dayer against SA A, and they lost Kazi Junaid Safi for a duck in the second over, but Sudip Gharami and Shakir Habib Gandhi have stabilised Bengal's innings since.

Bengal have started the season well, posting two outright victories in two (completed) games so far.

After opting first against Goa in New Chandigarh, Punjab find themselves at 35 for 2 in 16 overs. Punjab have lost both openers Harnoor Singh and Prabhsimran Singh.

Harnoor had marked his Ranji Trophy debut for Punjab with 170 against last season's runners-up Kerala in the previous round. But not much joy for him in this round, at least in the first innings. He's gone for 9 off 29 balls. Former Karnataka seamer V Koushik and Deepraj Gaonkar have struck for Goa. New captain Uday Saharan and his predecessor Naman Dhir are aiming to repair Punjab's innings.

After opting to bat against Kerala in Mangalapuram, Karnataka have stumbled to 13 for 2 in the eighth over. Both Mayank Agarwal (5) and KV Aneesh (8) are gone. Keeper-batter Shrijith is joined by Karun Nair in the middle.

Nair has made a rousing return to his home state from Vidarbha, making scores of 73, 8 and 174* in this season before today. Karnataka need another big knock from him as they look for their first outright win in this season.

IPL and DPL star Priyansh Arya has been handed his Ranji Trophy debut at home in Delhi against Puducherry. But he's been listed to bat in the middle order.

Arpit Rana has been trapped lbw by Abin Mathew for a duck. Sanat Sangwan, the other opener, is still around but is yet to open his account. Delhi are 6 for 1 in 6 overs.

In the absence of Ayush Badoni, who is with the India A side in Bengaluru, Yash Dhull has taken over the captaincy for Delhi. Fast bowler Simarjeet Singh is back in the XI in place of Navdeep Saini

India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal has slotted in at the top for Mumbai, in place of Angkrish Raghuvanshi. He has started cautiously and is currently on 1 off 16 balls. Musheer Khan has retained his spot at the top. Mumbai are 7 for 0 in the five overs against Rajasthan in Jaipur.

Vidarbha, the defending champions, strike in the first over in Coimbatore. TN opener R Vimal Khumar gifts his wicket to seamer Nachiket Bhute on his 26th birthday. He's strangled down the leg side. Inswinger, veering down the leg side, Vimal fiddles with it and tickles it behind to Wadkar, the captain and keeper.

Both Vidarbha and TN are dealing with injuries and unavailability of key players. Danish Malewar is reportedly injured while Yash Thakur is with the India A squad for the four-dayer against SA A in Bengaluru.

As for TN, their strike bowler Gurjapneet Singh is out of this round with a niggle while their premier wicketkeeper N Jagadeesan had suffered an injury during training ahead of the India A match in Bengaluru. Rookie keeper SR Athish is joined by Pradosh Ranjan Paul in Coimbatore.

Chhattisgarh have made an excellent start against J&K in Raipur. Chhattisgarh professional Ravi Kiran opens with a double-wicket maiden. He has sent opener Qamran Iqbal and No.3 Yawer Hassan for ducks. Ravi Kiran is now up against J&K's captain and professional Paras Dogra, who is the highest run-getter among active players in the Ranji Trophy.

After managing only four points from their first two fixtures, Karnataka are eyeing their first outright victory this season. They have shaken things up against Kerala in Mangalapuram. Shikhar Shetty, a left-arm spinner, has played just one first-class match so far while Mohsin Khan, an offspinner, has played three first-class games so far.

Abhinav Mukund earned a reputation as one of the most reliable batters on the domestic circuit, amassing over 10,000 runs in first-class cricket. He also played seven Tests for India. A former TN captain and now a sought-after broadcaster, Mukund sits down with Raunak Kapoor and talks about the many twists in his career.