Karnataka batter Ravichandran Smaran struck his second double hundred in three games in their fifth-round Ranji Trophy 2025–26 match against Chandigarh.
227 not out: Ravichandran Smaran scores third first-class double ton
Batting first in Hubli, Karnataka were in early trouble against Chandigarh, slipping to 13 for 2, and soon after to 64 for 3. Karun Nair and Smaran then consolidated the innings with a 119-run stand. Nair departed just five runs short of his century, ending his 164-ball stay, with Karnataka at 183 for 4.
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Smaran, however, carried on the momentum, scoring an unbeaten 227 off 362 balls, hitting 16 fours and two sixes. He also received support from Shreyas Gopal (62) and Shikhar Shetty (59). Karnataka declared their first innings on 547 for 8.
This is Smaran’s second double hundred in three games and also his highest first-class score. He had scored an unbeaten 220 against Kerala, followed by 54 against Maharashtra, coming into this match. Playing only his 13th match, this was his third first-class double ton, having hit his first – a 203 against Punjab – in January this year.
Smaran has now moved to fourth on the current Ranji Trophy season's run-scoring chart with 595 runs at 119, behind Mizoram’s Arman Jaffer (598 runs at 119.60), Nair (602 runs at 100.33) and Delhi’s Sanat Sangwan (614 runs at 102.33).
Match 86, Karnataka vs Chandigarh
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Who is Ravichandran Smaran?
Smaran, a left-handed batter, has represented Karnataka right from his Under-14 days. He has also turned out for the Gulbarga Mystics and Shivamogga Strikers in the Maharaja T20 Trophy, the state’s premier T20 competition.
He now has 1,179 runs in the format at an average of 78.6, including four hundreds (three of which are double tons) and three fifties. In List A cricket, his 433 runs at 72.16 and a strike rate of 100.23 so far all came in Karnataka's title-winning season in the 2024/25 Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Also read: Ravichandran Smaran: A future all-format star in the making
In T20s, Smaran has 170 runs at an average of 34 and a strike rate of 170. He was signed as a replacement by Sunrisers Hyderabad for IPL 2025, but is yet to make his debut. He has been retained by the franchise for IPL 2026, along with Ranji Trophy record-holder Harsh Dubey.
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