Sarfaraz-Shami shine, Gill-Jadeja falter: Five takeaways from Round Six of Ranji Trophy

Sarfaraz continues to knock selectors' door

Currently sidelined from the Indian team, Sarfaraz Khan continued his all-format brilliance, hitting his fifth first-class double century in Mumbai’s game against Hyderabad. His 227 in the first innings set the side up for a handsome nine-wicket win.

With his double ton, Sarfaraz also entered the top five of the all-time highest first-class batting averages. He scored 329 runs at a strike rate of 203 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and 303 runs at an average of 75.75 and a strike rate of 191 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Shami not slowing down

Mohammed Shami hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down since returning to full fitness. He picked up a second five-wicket haul in the ongoing Ranji Trophy, returning figures of 5-51 against Services to help his side win by an innings and 46 runs and book a quarterfinals berth. He now has 27 wickets at 17.03 each in five matches of the ongoing Ranji Trophy season.

Mumbai show title credentials

Mumbai stormed into the quarterfinals with a commanding win over Hyderabad. Powered by Sarfaraz’s double hundred and Siddhesh Lad’s century, they posted 560 in the first innings, and restricted Hyderabad to just 267 and enforced follow-on.

The second innings wasn’t much better than the first for Hyderabad, who were dismissed for 302, leaving Mumbai with just 10 to win: they got them for the loss of one wicket to take another step towards a record 43rd title. Notably, this was Mohammad Siraj’s captaincy debut, which he would want to forget quickly.

Vidarbha's 16-match unbeaten streak ends

Defending champions Vidarbha saw their 16-match unbeaten run in first-class cricket come to an end. Their streak began in October 2024, their first match of the 2024/25 Ranji Trophy season, and went on until November 25, when they beat Baroda. During this period, they won the Ranji Trophy and Irani Cup.

However, up against Andhra in Round Six, Vidarbha were condemned to an eight-wicket defeat, which pushed them to third place in the Elite Group A table.

Gill, Jadeja fail to impress

The two mainstays of the Indian Test team, Ravindra Jadeja and captain Shubman Gill, faced off in Rajkot. Though Saurashtra won the game, Jadeja didn’t have a big role to play: he scored seven and 46 while returning figures of 2-48 and 0-41.

Gill, meanwhile, was dismissed by left-arm spinner Parth Bhut in both innings. Batting at No.5 in the first, he fell for a two-ball duck before scoring 14 from No.4 in the second. Notably, Bhut registered a 10-wicket haul in the match, picking up five wickets in each innings.

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