The fourth round of the 2025/26 Ranji Trophy began on November 8; here's a round-up of all the action from day one.
Elite Group A
Jharkhand wicketkeeper Kumar Kushagra scored his fourth first-class hundred, while the Uttar Pradesh top three made merry against Nagaland. Opener Madhav Kaushik and No.3 Aryan Juyal scored hundreds, while Kaushik's partner made 55.
Against Odisha, Vidarbha batter Dhruv Shorey scored his 14th first-class ton, while in-form Yash Rathod was dismissed for 38, bringing his first-class average down bleow 60.
Andhra left-arm quick Prithvi Raj Yarra rattled Tamil Nadu with 4-43 as the visitors were bowled out for 182 in Visakhapatnam. Andhra couldn't go into stumps unscathed though, as they lost the wicket of former India Test wicketkeeper KS Bharat to end on 20-1.
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Scores at stumps, day one:
- Tamil Nadu 182 (P Vidyuth 40, Prithvi Raj 4-43) vs Andhra 20-1 (Srikar Bharat 12, Trilok Nag 1-13).
- Jharkhand 327-5 (Kumar Kushagra 133, Rasikh Salam 2-56) vs Baroda.
- Vidarbha 234-5 (Dhruv Shorey 128, Tapas Das 2-29) vs Odisha.
- Uttar Pradesh 301-1 (Madhav Kaushik 120*, Aryan Juyal 118*, Imliwati Lemtur 1-56) vs Nagaland.
Elite Group B
The Goa innings was a tale of missed opportunities as four batters crossed 30, but didn't reach 50. The only one who did, was RCB-capped Suyash Prabhudessai, who couldn't convert it into a hundred and was out for 65. Off-spinner Saransh Jain, meanwhile, was at his consistent best, picking up four of the eight Goa wickets to fall on day one.
Former India opener Mayank Agarwal led the way for Karnataka with a knock of 80. R Smaran scored a half-century as well (54), while veteran all-rounder Jalaj Saxena picked up a three-wicket haul.
Chandigarh were rocked early by right-arm seamer Ayush Goyal, playing just his third first-class match. He took 4-50, including the wickets of the top three as Chandigarh were bowled out for 173. Punjab lost three wickets as well by stumps, including that of skipper Uday Saharan.
In another low-scoring affair, Saurashtra were bowled out for 160 after MD Nidheesh's incredible spell of 6-20. Baba Aparajith chipped in with 3-16 as well towards the end. Rohan Kunnummal then scored a brisk unbeaten half-century (59 off 58 balls) to end the first day for Kerala.
Scores at stumps, day one:
- Goa 256-8 (Suyash Prabhudessai 65, Saransh Jain 4-72) vs Madhya Pradesh.
- Karnataka 257-5 (Mayank Agarwal 80, Jalaj Saxena 3-80) vs Maharashtra.
- Saurashtra 160 (Jay Gohil 84, MD Nidheesh 6-20) vs Kerala 82-2 (Rohan Kunnummal 59*, Hiten Kanbi 2-26).
- Chandigarh 173 (Nikhil Thakur 63, Ayush Goyal 4-50) vs Punjab 71-3 (Uday Saharan 31, Vshu Kashyap 2-5).
Elite Group C
Haryana were bowled out inside 50 overs in Rohtak as left-arm spinners Mayank Mishra (4-38) and Jagadeesha Suchith (5-27) ran riot. For Mishra, it was his fourth four-wicket haul in five innings this season. Uttarakhand then went on to overhaul Haryana's total by at the loss of just two wickets by the end of the first day itself.
Gujarat bowlers shared the wickets as they restricted Services to 203-8 by stumps on day one. Six Services batters reached 25, but none made it to 40.
In Surat, the 41-year-old Anustup Majumdar scored his 18th first-class hundred, taking Bengal to 273-5. Discarded India all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed supported him with 86 off 106. Meanwhile, India Test discard Hanuma Vihari continued his good form, scoring his second consecutive hundred, this time against Assam. He is unbeaten on 143 and would be looking to convert it into a big one.
Scores at stumps, day one:
- Haryana 112 (Yuvraj Singh 30, Jagadeesha Suchith 5-27) vs Uttarakhand 126-2 (Kunal Chandela 37*, Nishant Sindhu 2-41).
- Services 203-8 (Shivam Kumar 37, Siddharth Desai 3-55) vs Gujarat.
- Bengal 273-5 (Anustup Majumdar 103, Kunal Yadav 3-56) vs Railways.
- Tripura 316-4 (Hanuma Vihari 143*, Darshan Rajbongshi 2-52) vs Assam.
Elite Group D
The Hyderabad middle order came good after a shaky start (21-2) to get them close to 300 by the end of day one. Captain Rahul Singh (55), and wicketkeeper Rahul Radesh (85*) scored half-centuries. Ashok Sharma (2-61) and Aniket Choudhary (2-35) shared two wickets each for Rajasthan but Rahul Chahar (1-77 from 19 overs) was expensive.
Mumbai were saved by Musheer Khan (112) and Siddhesh Lad (100*) after they were reduced to 35-3 and 73-4 by Himachal Pradesh. In Raipur, Chhattisgarh moved at a slow pace, making 201-4 in 86 overs with Sanjeet Desai (69) being the only half-centurion. Former India off-spinner Jayant Yadav opened the bowling for Puducherry, but couldn't pick up a wicket in 16 overs on the first day.
Jammu & Kashmir's Auqib Nabi meanwhile contiued his rise, taking another five-wicket haul, his fourth in six matches this season including the Duleep Trophy. Three Delhi batters made half-centuries, but none got into the 70s and they were bowled out for 211.
Scores at stumps, day one:
- Hyderabad 295-7 (Rahul Radesh 85, Aniket Choudhary 2-35) vs Rajasthan.
- Mumbai 289-5 (Musheer Khan 112, Arpit Guleria 2-56) vs Himachal Pradesh.
- Delhi 211 (Ayush Doseja 65, Auqib Nabi 5-35) vs Jammu & Kashmir.
- Chhattisgrah 201-4 (Sanjeet Desai 69, Puneet Datey 2-37) vs Puducherry.
Plate Group
Wicketkeeper Ulenyai Khwairakpam, playing just his fourth first-class match, scored 90 while opening the batting for Manipur against Mizoram as they finished day one on 201-3.
Another wicketkeeper who opened the batting - Arpit Bhatewara - had a brilliant outing. The 31-year-old scored his second first-class hundred for Meghalaya and converted it into a double, just like he did with his first. He is unbeaten on 203 and has captain Kishan Lyngdoh batting with him on 118.
In Rangpo, Bihar were missing the services of their 14-year-old vice-captain Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who was unavailable following his selection for the India A one-day series against South Africa A. They managed to put up a score of 265 without him, with captain Sakibul Gani top-scoring with 66. 22-year-old Sikkim leg-spinner Ankur Malik took 5-81, his third five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.
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Scores at stumps, day one:
- Manipur 201-3 (Ulenyai Khwairakpam 90, Lalrempuia 2-57) v Mizoram.
- Bihar 265 (Sakibul Gani 66, Ankur Malik 5-81) v Sikkim 14-0.
- Meghalaya 386-2 (Arpit Bhatewara 203*, Anurag Yadav 1-52)vs Arunachal Pradesh.
