Stats Analysis

First Ranji Trophy season with two triple-tons by captains

Stats highlights from the third round of the tournament include Goa's first triple-centurion and Gujarat's biggest win by runs. Also, the new trend of Delhi's innings defeats

File photo - Iqbal Abdulla's 159 not out was the highest score by a Kerala batsman at No. 6 or lower  ESPNcricinfo Ltd

1 Sagun Kamat became Goa's first triple-centurion in first-class matches with his 304 against Services. The previous best for Goa was Swapnil Asnodkar's 254 not out, against Railways in 2007-08. Kamat's was the sixth 200-plus score for Goa and it helped his side post their first 600-plus total.

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8 Captains who have scored triple-centuries in the Ranji Trophy. There have been two this season - Swapnil Gugale's 351 not out in the second round and Kamat's 304 not out in the third. This is the first Ranji Trophy season where more than one captain has scored a triple-century.

Triple-centuries by captains in Ranji Trophy
Batsman Runs Team Against Venue Season
 VM Merchant  359*  Mumbai  Maharashtra  Mumbai (B)  1943-44
 SM Gavaskar  340  Mumbai  Bengal  Mumbai (W)  1981-82
 SV Manjrekar  377  Mumbai  Hyderabad  Mumbai (W)  1990-91
 R Lamba  312  Delhi  Himachal Pradesh  Delhi  1994-95
 W Jaffer  301  Mumbai  Saurashtra  Chennai  2008-09
 Sunny Singh  312  Haryana  Madhya Pradesh  Indore  2009-10
 SM Gugale  351*  Maharashtra  Delhi  Mumbai (W)  2015-16
 SK Kamat  304*  Goa  Services  Cuttack  2015-16

1 Jaydev Shah is the only Saurashtra captain who has scored a double-century in first-class matches. He made 217 against Maharashtra in the third round, having fallen seven runs short against Rajasthan in the first round. He is the only Saurashtra batsman to have scored two centuries in this season so far.

159* Iqbal Abdulla's score, batting at No. 8 against Hyderabad, is the highest by a Kerala batsman at No. 6 or lower. The previous best by a Kerala player at No. 6 or lower was Sreekumar Nair's 147 against Saurashtra in 2002-03. This was Abdulla's second first-class century; in both instances, he scored more than 150 at No. 8 or lower. In the last ten Ranji Trophy seasons, no other player apart from Abdulla has scored more than one 150-plus score batting at No. 8 or lower.

1 Bowler to take a hat-trick for Tripura. Rana Dutta, playing against Himachal Pradesh, took the first hat-trick for Tripura in first-class cricket history. This was the fourth hat-trick against Himachal Pradesh; the last one against them was by Sreesanth in 2004-05. Dutta ended with figures of 6 for 58, his best innings haul in first-class cricket.

294 Gujarat's victory margin against Railways, their biggest in terms of runs in the Ranji Trophy. It came despite them being bowled out for 187 in their first innings. Their previous-biggest margin of victory was 293 runs against Saurashtra in 1960-61.

4 Innings defeats for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy over the last 30 years, including their recent loss by an innings and 160 runs to Karnataka. All four defeats have come in the last nine seasons. Between 1981-82 and 2008-09, Delhi never lost by an innings. Delhi scored 90 and 164 in two innings against Karnataka, after making big totals of 589 for 8 and 590 in their first two matches. They won their first game of this season, against Assam, by an innings and 83 runs.

2 Totals in excess of 500 runs for Tripura in the Ranji Trophy. They made 549 against Himachal Pradesh in the third round. Their first such total was 650 for 8, against Hyderabad in 2013-14.

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Bharath Seervi is stats sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @SeerviBharath