The 2018–19 Ranji Trophy was the 85th season of the

Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy (also known as Mastercard Ranji Trophy for sponsorship reasons) is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between multiple teams representing regional and state cricket associations. Board of Control for Cr ...

, the premier

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...

tournament that took place in India between November 2018 and February 2019. Vidarbha were the defending champions. The final took place between Vidarbha and Saurashtra, starting on 3 February 2019. Vidarbha defeated Saurashtra by 78 runs in the final, to become the sixth team in the tournament's history to retain their title.

Background

In April 2018, the

Board of Control for Cricket in India The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the national governing body for cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at Cricket centre, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The BCCI is the richest governing body of cricket in the world ...

(BCCI) reinstated

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

for the competition, bringing the total teams to 29. In July 2018, the BCCI increased the total number of teams to 37, with the addition of

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It share ...

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a States and territories of India, state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It ...

Meghalaya Meghalaya (, or , meaning "abode of clouds"; from Sanskrit , "cloud" + , "abode") is a state in northeastern India. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the state of Assam: (a) the United Khasi Hills and Jai ...

Mizoram Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and capital city. The name of the state is derived from "Mizo", the self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo language means "lan ...

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in the northeast India, northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the ...

, Puducherry,

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligu ...

and

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in the North India, northern part of India. It is often referred to as t ...

Format

The tournament had four groups, with nine teams each in Groups A and B, and ten teams in Group C. All the new teams were placed in the Plate Group. The teams in the Plate Group were allowed to have up to three professional players in their squads. The top two teams from Group C and the top team in the Plate Group progressed to the quarter-finals of the tournament, along with five teams from Groups A and B.

Summary

League phase

The opening round of fixtures saw a total of 94 players making their first-class cricket debut. In the third round match between Vidarbha and Baroda, Vidarbha's Wasim Jaffer became the first batsman to score 11,000 runs in the Ranji Trophy. In the fourth round match between Puducherry and

, Puducherry's Pankaj Singh set a new record for the most five-wicket hauls against different teams in the Ranji Trophy with 17. The fourth round of fixtures also saw the first occasion that seven captains scored centuries. In round five, Paras Dogra batting for Puducherry scored 253 runs against

. It was his eighth double century, going past Ajay Sharma's record of seven double centuries in the Ranji Trophy. Also in round five, Ajay Rohera set a new record for the highest score on debut in a first-class match. Batting for

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital city, capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar, and Rewa, India, Rewa being the othe ...

against

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

, he scored 267

not out In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at t ...

, breaking the record of 260 runs set by Amol Mazumdar in 1994. Naman Ojha became the most successful wicket-keeper in Ranji Trophy history, breaking Vinayak Samant's record of 355 dismissals as wicket-keeper. In the sixth round of fixtures,

Milind Kumar Milind Kumar (born 15 February 1991) is an Indian professional cricketer who played for Delhi and Sikkim in domestic cricket. He is a right-hand batsman and an occasional off-break bowler. He was bought by Delhi Daredevils in the IPL Season 7 A ...

became the first batsman to score 1,000 runs in this edition of the tournament. He did so in the match against

, in his ninth innings of the competition. In round seven of the tournament,

Ashutosh Aman Ashutosh Aman (born 19 May 1986) is an Indian cricketer who plays for Bihar in domestic cricket. Domestic career He made his List A debut for Bihar in the 2018–19 Vijay Hazare Trophy on 19 September 2018. He made his first-class debut for Bih ...

became the first bowler to take 50 wickets in this years' Ranji Trophy tournament. He went on to finish the tournament with 68 wickets, breaking the previous record of 64 dismissals set by

Bishan Singh Bedi Bishan Singh Bedi (; born 25 September 1946) is a former Indian cricketer who was primarily a slow left-arm orthodox bowler. He played Test cricket for India from 1966 to 1979 and formed part of the famous Indian spin quartet. He played a total ...

in the 1974–75 tournament. Round eight saw Pankaj Singh of Puducherry become the first seam bowler to take 400 wickets in the Ranji Trophy. In round nine,

Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the eas ...

and

were both dismissed for just 35 runs in one of their innings. The group stage of the tournament saw two captains retire from all forms of cricket. In November 2018, Gautam Gambhir initially stepped down as captain of

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders wi ...

, before announcing his retirement the following month. Gambhir went on to score 112 in his final innings, his 43rd century in first-class cricket. Saurashtra's captain,

Jaydev Shah Jaydev Niranjan Shah (born 4 May 1983) is an Indian former cricketer. Jaydev is the son of Niranjan Shah, ex-secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, and represented Saurashtra cricket team in India's domestic circuit. He has th ...

, also retired from cricket in December. He made record for most matches as captain in Ranji Trophy. The ninth round match between Vidarbha and Saurashtra was Wasim Jaffer's 146th match in the Ranji Trophy. He broke Devendra Bundela's record of playing in the most Ranji matches. On 2 January 2019,

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

from Group C became the first team to qualify for the quarter-finals, after they beat Goa by ten wickets. Ahead of the penultimate round of fixtures, ten teams across Groups A and B still had a chance to progress to the quarter-finals. Vidarbha became the first team to qualify from Group A, after Baroda beat

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Kar ...

by two wickets in their final group-stage match. Despite the loss, Karnataka also qualified from Group A.

won the Plate Group and advanced to the quarter-finals. On the final day of the group stage, Saurashtra and

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the nin ...

from Group A,

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South C ...

from Group B and

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

from Group C had also qualified for the quarter-finals. Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra across Groups A and B were relegated to Group C, while Goa were relegated from Group C to the Plate Group for the next season.

Knockout phase

were the first team to progress from the quarter-finals, after they beat

by 113 runs. It was the first time in the team's history that they had reached the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy, beating their previous best of the quarter-finals, in the previous edition. The second team to qualify for the semi-finals was

, after they beat

by six wickets. Defending champions Vidarbha beat

from the Plate Group by an innings and 115 runs to reach the semi-finals. In the last quarter-final fixture to finish, Saurashtra completed the highest successful run chase to win a match in the Ranji Trophy, scoring 372 runs to beat

by six wickets. The first semi-final saw the defending champions Vidarbha beat Kerala by an innings and 11 runs inside two days. Wasim Jaffer became the first batsman to score 1,000 runs in two different seasons of the Ranji Trophy. Umesh Yadav took his best match figures in first-class cricket, taking twelve wickets for 79 runs. In the second semi-final, Saurashtra defeated Karnataka by five wickets. Vidarbha defeated Saurashtra by 78 runs in the final, to become the sixth team in the tournament's history to retain their title. Vidarbha's captain Faiz Fazal said that "it is not easy to win the Ranji Trophy. To win eleven matches, it's not a fluke. If anyone thought last year was a fluke, we have proven ourselves again". For Saurashtra, it was their third straight loss in Ranji Trophy finals, with their captain Jaydev Unadkat saying he was really proud of how his team performed during the tournament.

Player transfers

The following player transfers were approved ahead of the season. All the new teams in the Plate Group also transferred players into their squads, along with signing professionals.

Teams

The teams were drawn in the following groups: Group A * Baroda * Chhattisgarh *

* Maharashtra *

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

Railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

* Saurashtra * Vidarbha

Group B Group B was a set of regulations for grand touring (GT) vehicles used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World Sportsc ...

* Andhra *

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peak ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil languag ...

Group C *

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

* Goa *

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ...

* Jammu & Kashmir *

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . ...

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sc ...

* Services *

Plate Group Plate may refer to: Cooking * Plate (dishware), a broad, mainly flat vessel commonly used to serve food * Plates, tableware, dishes or dishware used for setting a table, serving food and dining * Plate, the content of such a plate (for example: ...

* Puducherry *

League stage

Group A

Group B Group B was a set of regulations for grand touring (GT) vehicles used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World Sportsc ...

Group C

Plate Group Plate may refer to: Cooking * Plate (dishware), a broad, mainly flat vessel commonly used to serve food * Plates, tableware, dishes or dishware used for setting a table, serving food and dining * Plate, the content of such a plate (for example: ...

Knockout stage

Quarter-finals

---- ---- ----

Semi-finals

----

Final

References

External links

Series home at ESPN Cricinfo
{{DEFAULTSORT:2018-19 Ranji Trophy Ranji Trophy seasons Ranji Trophy Trophy