Ranji Trophy

Ranji Trophy
Countries	India
Administrator	BCCI
First tournament	1934
Tournament format	Round-robin then knockout
Number of teams	27
Current champion	Karnataka (7th title)
Most successful	Mumbai (40 titles)
Most runs	Wasim Jaffer
Most wickets	Rajinder Goel (640) 1958–1985
2013–14 Ranji Trophy

The Ranji Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between teams representing regional cricket associations. The competition currently consists of 27 teams, with 21 of the 28 states in India and Delhi (which is an Union Territory), having at least one representation. The competition is named after England and Sussex cricketer Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji (Jam Sahib of Nawanagar, also known as "Ranji"). Karnataka are the current Ranji champions beating Maharashtra by 7 wickets in the finals held in Hyderabad.

History

Ranjitsinhji, who the tournament is named after

The competition was launched as "The Cricket Championship of India" following a meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India in July 1934, with the first fixtures taking place in 1934–35. The trophy was donated by Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala. The first Ranji Trophy Championship was won by Bombay after they defeated North India in the final. Syed Mohammed Hadi of Hyderabad was the first batsman to score a hundred.

Mumbai (formerly Bombay) have been the dominant team in the Championship so far, with 40 wins, including 15 back-to-back wins from 1958–59 to 1972–73.

Participants

State teams and cricket associations and clubs with first-class status are qualified to play in the Ranji Trophy. While most association are regional, like the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association and Mumbai Cricket Association some are pan-Indian like Railways and Services.

Defunct Ranji Trophy Teams

The following sides have appeared in the Ranji Trophy, but no longer do so: Southern Punjab (1934/35-1967/68), Sind (1934/35-1947/48), Northern India (1934/35-1946/47), Central Provinces & Berar (1934/35-1949/50), Western India (1934/35-1945/46), North West Frontier Province (1937/38-1946/47), Holkar (1941/42-1954/55) Gwalior (1943/44), Kathiawar (1946/47-1949/50), Patiala/Patiala and Eastern Punjab States Union (1948/49, 1953/54-1958/59), Eastern Punjab (1950/51-1959/60), Madhya Bharat (1955/56-1956/57), Northern Punjab (1960/61-1967/68).

Format

From its inception until the 2001–02 season, the teams were grouped geographically into four or five zones – North, West, East, and South, with Central added in 1952–53. Initial matches were played within the zones on a knock-out basis until 1956–57, and thereafter on a league basis, to determine a winner; then, the five individual zone winners competed in a knock-out tournament, leading to a final which decided the winner of the Ranji Trophy. From the 1970–71 season, the knock-out stage was expanded to the top two teams from each zone, a total of ten qualifying teams. This was expanded again to the top three from each zone in 1992–93, a total of fifteen qualifying teams; between 1996–97 and 1999–2000, the fifteen qualifying teams competed in a secondary group stage, with three groups of five teams, and the top two from each group qualified for a six-team knock-out stage; in all other years until 2001-02, a full fifteen-team knock-out tournament was held.

The format was changed in the 2002–03 season with the zonal system abandoned and a two-division structure adopted – the Elite Group, containing fifteen teams, and the Plate Group, containing the rest. Each group had two sub-groups which played a round-robin; the top two from each Elite sub-group then contested a four-team knock-out tournament to determine the winner of the Ranji Trophy. The team which finished last in each Elite sub-group was relegated, and both Plate Group finalists were promoted for the following season. For the 2006–07 season, the divisions were re-labelled the Super League and Plate League respectively.

In the 2008–09 season, this format was adjusted to give both Super League and Plate League teams an opportunity to contest the Ranji Trophy. The top two from each Plate sub-group contested semi-finals; the winners of these two matches then joined the top three from each Super League sub-group in an eight-team knock-out tournament. The winner of this knock-out tournament then won the Ranji Trophy. Promotion and relegation between Super League and Plate League continued as before. In the 2010–11 season, Rajasthan won the Ranji Trophy after beginning the season in the Plate League.

From the 2012–13 season, this format was adjusted slightly. The Super League and Plate League names were abandoned, but the two-tier system remained. The top tier expanded from fifteen teams to eighteen teams, in two sub-groups of nine (known as Group A and Group B, and considered equal in status); and the second tier was reduced to nine teams in a single group (known as Group C). The top three teams from Groups A and B and the top two from Group C contest the knockout phase. The lowest placed team in each of Group A and Group B is relegated to Group C, and the top two from Group C are promoted to the top tier.

Round-robin matches are four days in length; knockout matches are played for five days. Throughout its history, if there is no outright result in a Ranji Trophy knock-out match, the team leading after the first innings is the winner.

Points summary

Points in the league stages of both divisions are currently awarded as follows:

Teams

For a complete list of teams which have played in the competition at some point during its history, see Ranji Trophy – Historical Note.

Group C Andhra Pradesh Assam Goa Himachal Pradesh Jammu and Kashmir Kerala/Travancore-Cochin Maharashtra Tripura Hyderabad Seasons Current season Ranji Trophy 2013–14 Previous seasons Ranji Trophy 2012–13 Ranji Trophy 2011–12 Ranji Trophy 2010–11 Ranji Trophy 2009–10 Ranji Trophy 2008–09 Ranji Trophy 2007–08 Ranji Trophy 2006–07 Ranji Trophy 2005–06 Ranji Trophy 2004–05 Ranji Trophy 2003–04 Ranji Trophy 2002–03 Ranji Trophy 2001–02 Ranji Trophy 2000–01 Ranji Trophy 1999–00 Ranji Trophy 1998–99 Ranji Trophy 1997–98 Ranji Trophy 1996–97 Ranji Trophy 1995–96 Ranji Trophy 1994–95 Ranji Trophy 1993–94 Ranji Trophy 1992–93 Ranji Trophy 1991–92 Ranji Trophy 1990–91 Ranji Trophy 1989–90 Tournament records Main article: List of Ranji Trophy records Team records[1] Most wins 40 Mumbai (formerly Bombay) Highest team score 944/6 decl. Hyderabad v Andhra 1993–94 [2] Lowest team score 21 Hyderabad v Rajasthan 2010 [3] Individual match records[1] Highest individual innings 443* B. B. Nimbalkar Maharashtra v Kathiawar 1948–49 [4] Best innings bowling 10/20 Premangsu Chatterjee Bengal v Assam 1956–57 [5] Best match bowling 16/99 Anil Kumble Karnataka v Kerala 1994–95 [6] Individual season records[7] Most runs in a season 1415 V. V. S. Laxman Hyderabad 1999–2000 Most centuries in a season 8 V. V. S. Laxman Hyderabad 1999–2000 Most wickets in a season 64 Bishan Bedi Delhi 1974–75 Individual career records Most career runs 9155[8] Wasim Jaffer 1993–present Most career centuries 32[9] Wasim Jaffer 1996–present Highest career batting average 98.35[10] Vijay Merchant 1934–1951 Most career wickets 640[11]† Rajinder Goel 1958–1985 † Some sources credit Goel with 636 or 637 wickets instead – see Rajinder Goel article for details. Winners Season Winner Runner-up 1934–35 Bombay Northern India 1935–36 Bombay Madras 1936–37 Nawanagar Bengal 1937–38 Hyderabad Nawanagar 1938–39 Bengal Southern Punjab 1939–40 Maharashtra United Provinces 1940–41 Maharashtra Madras 1941–42 Bombay Mysore 1942–43 Baroda Hyderabad 1943–44 Western India Bengal 1944–45 Bombay Holkar 1945–46 Holkar Baroda 1946–47 Baroda Holkar 1947–48 Holkar Bombay 1948–49 Bombay Bihar 1949–50 Baroda Holkar 1950–51 Holkar Gujarat 1951–52 Bombay Holkar 1952–53 Holkar Bengal 1953–54 Bombay Holkar 1954–55 Madras Holkar 1955–56 Bombay Bengal 1956–57 Bombay Services 1957–58 Baroda Services 1958–59 Bombay Bengal 1959–60 Bombay Mysore 1960–61 Bombay Rajasthan 1961–62 Bombay Rajasthan 1962–63 Bombay Rajasthan 1963–64 Bombay Rajasthan 1964–65 Bombay Hyderabad 1965–66 Bombay Rajasthan 1966–67 Bombay Rajasthan 1967–68 Bombay Madras 1968–69 Bombay Bengal 1969–70 Bombay Rajasthan 1970–71 Bombay Maharashtra 1971–72 Bombay Bengal 1972–73 Bombay Tamil Nadu 1973–74 Karnataka Rajasthan 1974–75 Bombay Karnataka 1975–76 Bombay Bihar 1976–77 Bombay Delhi 1977–78 Karnataka Uttar Pradesh 1978–79 Delhi Karnataka 1979–80 Delhi Bombay 1980–81 Bombay Delhi 1981–82 Delhi Karnataka 1982–83 Karnataka Bombay 1983–84 Bombay Delhi 1984–85 Bombay Delhi 1985–86 Delhi Haryana 1986–87 Hyderabad Delhi 1987–88 Tamil Nadu Railways 1988–89 Delhi Bengal 1989–90 Bengal Delhi 1990–91 Haryana Bombay 1991–92 Delhi Tamil Nadu 1992–93 Punjab Maharashtra 1993–94 Bombay Bengal 1994–95 Bombay Punjab 1995–96 Karnataka Tamil Nadu 1996–97 Mumbai Delhi 1997–98 Karnataka Uttar Pradesh 1998–99 Karnataka Madhya Pradesh 1999–2000 Mumbai Hyderabad 2000–01 Baroda Railways 2001–02 Railways Baroda 2002–03 Mumbai Tamil Nadu 2003–04 Mumbai Tamil Nadu 2004–05 Railways Punjab 2005–06 Uttar Pradesh Bengal 2006–07 Mumbai Bengal 2007–08 Delhi Uttar Pradesh 2008–09 Mumbai Uttar Pradesh 2009–10 Mumbai Karnataka 2010–11 Rajasthan Baroda 2011–12 Rajasthan Tamil Nadu 2012–13 Mumbai Saurashtra 2013–14 Karnataka Maharashtra Finals appearances by team The Bombay\Mumbai cricket team has played in 44 of the 79 Finals through 2013 and have won 40 Ranji Trophy championships, the most of any team. Team Wins Appearances Win % Last win Bombay\Mumbai 40 44 90.7 2013 Karnataka\Mysore 7 13 54.0 2014 Delhi 7 14 50.0 2008 Baroda 5 8 62.5 2001 Madhya Pradesh\Holkar 4 11 36.4 1953 Bengal 2 13 15.4 1990 Tamil Nadu\Madras 2 11 18.1 1988 Rajasthan 2 10 20.0 2012 Hyderabad 2 5 40.0 1987 Maharashtra 2 4 50.0 1941 Railways 2 4 50.0 2005 Western India\Nawanagar\Saurashtra 2 4 50.0 1937 Haryana 1 2 50.0 1991 Punjab 1 3 33.3 1993 Uttar Pradesh\United Provinces 1 6 16.6 2006 Services 0 2 00.0 Bihar 0 2 00.0 Gujarat 0 1 00.0 Northern India 0 1 00.0 Southern Punjab 0 1 00.0 See also Cricket in India History of cricket Duleep Trophy Irani Trophy Vijay Hazare Trophy Deodhar Trophy NKP Salve Challenger Trophy Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Indian Premier League References and notes ↑ 1.0 1.1 Compiled from Overall First-Class Records at CricketArchive. ↑ The Home of CricketArchive. Cricketarchive.co.uk (1994-01-11). Retrieved on 2013-12-06. ↑ The Home of CricketArchive. Cricketarchive.co.uk (1935-02-06). Retrieved on 2013-12-06. ↑ The Home of CricketArchive. Cricketarchive.co.uk (1948-12-18). Retrieved on 2013-12-06. ↑ The Home of CricketArchive. Cricketarchive.co.uk (1957-01-29). Retrieved on 2013-12-06. ↑ The Home of CricketArchive. Cricketarchive.co.uk (1995-01-17). Retrieved on 2013-12-06. ↑ From Indian Cricket 2004, published by The Hindu, 2004. ↑ "Most Runs in Ranji Trophy". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 17 January 2013.  ↑ Partab Ramchand (19 February 2000). "Wasim Jaffer in elite company". Cricinfo. Retrieved 28 February 2007.  ↑ Partab Ramchand (19 February 2000). "Ajay Sharma in elite company". Cricinfo. Retrieved 28 February 2007.  ↑ Anil Gulati (30 June 2001). "I was born at the wrong time: Rajinder Goel". Cricinfo. 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