The 2024/25 season of the Ranji Trophy is very much underway, with thrilling performances already taking center stage in the second round of matches. Reputed as one of India’s most prestigious domestic cricket tournaments, the Ranji Trophy remains a venue for top-level and budding players to display their skills.
2024/25 season of the Ranji Trophy
Below, read a wrap of all the important matches from the second round of the new season, including great performances and team interactions, and what that will do for the competition in the future.
Elite Group A: Record-Breaking Performances
The second round of 2024/25 Ranji Trophy had a number of thrilling matches; the best among them was between Tripura and Meghalaya. Off to a very poor start at 29-2, Tripura reached a fantastic position with an energetic performance by Sridam Paul. His electrifying knock of 146 runs off 178 balls saw Tripura reach 346-6 till the end of the day.
This was an important innings for Tripura as they lost their opener Jiwanjot Singh early on, making just eight runs. However, Meghalaya bowlers, Akash Choudhary the leader of the pack, struggled to get further inroads after the initial success as Akash ended up at 2-100.
Some fantastic individual performances were also seen in Maharashtra and Mumbai’s match. Maharashtra was all out for just 126 runs, with Hitesh Walunj of Mumbai taking six wickets. Even though they did a poor beginning due to Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 80*, Maharashtra came back into the game in the second innings. They folded the day at 142-1, yet to go past Mumbai’s first-innings total of 441.
In Baroda’s match with Services, skipper Krunal Pandya hit a good 86 while Shivalik Sharma scored an excellent 178 as Baroda managed a big total of 477-6. At stumps, Services struggled at 74-2. In another match, Odisha were playing against Jammu & Kashmir and captain Govinda Poddar saved the day with an unbeaten brave 87 after Odisha slipped to 106-5 chasing the first score of Jammu & Kashmir at 270.
Elite Group B: Gutsy Performances Amidst Early Wobbles
A blinding second day in the 2024/25 Ranji Trophy saw Gujarat take on Andhra Pradesh. Chintan Gaja, Gujarat’s skipper, played a brilliant innings of 92 and had Arzan Nagwaswalla score 82 off 119 balls as they rallied their team from 203-8 to 367. Andhra Pradesh got off to a horrific start, folding for 29-5. Some quick batting by KS Bharat, 78 in this case, saw them do a lot better, and they ended the day at 137-5.
Himachal Pradesh struggled against Rajasthan, failing to build on their first-innings total of 304-7. Rajasthan’s Deepak Chahar, with figures of 5-30, restricted Himachal to just 98, putting Rajasthan in control as Himachal finished their second innings at 147-2, still behind.
Wicketkeeper Rahul Radesh’s unbeaten 82 steadied Hyderabad after a precarious start at 64-4 in their match against Uttarakhand. His partnership with Kodimela Himateja’s 78 brought Hyderabad back into contention as they ended day two at 244-5, chasing Uttarakhand’s first-innings total of 325.
Elite Group C: Dominance and Rain-Interrupted Matches
The contest between Haryana and Uttar Pradesh was one-sided, with Haryana piling on 431-9 thanks to a century from Himanshu Rana and some vital lower-order contributions. In reply, Uttar Pradesh struggled to 147-2 at the close of play.
Of the other matches, Punjab’s match against Madhya Pradesh saw a thrilling bowling act by Gurnoor Brar, who picked up 3-36 to help his side limit Madhya Pradesh to 207 in reply to Punjab’s 277. Sahil Arora turned out to be a star for Punjab with a stellar unbeaten 101, being the man for a big chunk of runs for his team.
Rain played spoilsport in some matches. No play was possible for two successive days in the Bengal-Bihar match due to rain and wet outfield. The Kerala-Karnataka match was no exception as it witnessed rain and, at stumps, Kerala had managed to score 161-3.
Elite Group D: High Scores and Strategic Declarations
Tamil Nadu, batting first in the Group D game against Delhi, declared at the imposing total of 674-6, with Sai Sudharsan making sure with a double century 202*. His innings, along with the centuries from Washington Sundar 152 and Pradosh Ranjan Paul 117, set the tone for the rest of the game. Delhi, in reply, managed 43-0 by the end of day two.
The other bid came from Chhattisgarh, which managed an astonishing 578-7 versus Saurashtra, courtesy of an unbeaten 203 from Amandeep Khare. The double hundred, coupled with Sanjeet Desai’s 146, put them in pole position, and it is sure to be an uphill task for Saurashtra.
In reply to Assam’s 266, Chandigarh rode Raj Angad Bawa’s unbeaten 122 against Assam. His 147-run partnership with Mayank Sidhu saw him make 54 as Chandigarh finished the day at 301-5.
Conclusion
The 2024/25 Ranji Trophy second round has thrown up intense matches, stunning performances, and resilient fightbacks. Centuries from the likes of Sai Sudharsan and Amandeep Khare down to top bowling efforts from players like Hitesh Walunj and Deepak Chahar-this season is proving a display of talent and competitive spirit.
As teams fight it out for supremacy in the Ranji Trophy 2024/25, which keeps on transforming, each of us will be glued to seats to watch how events unfold in the competition. Right from tracking young talented players to class experienced players, action is surely going to get intense in the coming weeks.
Follow all updates of Ranji Trophy 2024/25 live scores, recent news and much more. Stay updated with the news section as we cover everything from the ongoing season.
