New Delhi [India], October 18 : The opening round of the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season produced several standout performances, including a fiery seven-wicket match haul by Mohammed Shami, twin 10-wicket returns from spinners Dharmendrasinh Jadeja and Manav Suthar, and a double century from Madhya Pradesh's Rajat Patidar.
Mumbai all-rounder Shams Mulani also impressed with a nine-wicket haul and a crucial 91-run knock in a close win over Jammu and Kashmir.
Shami made a statement with a seven-wicket haul, including a four-wicket haul in the second innings for Bengal against Uttarakhand in a win, while skipper Patidar's knock continued to raise his stocks in domestic cricket as MP secured a draw against Punjab. Mulani's nine wickets, including a seven-fer in the second innings and a knock of 91, helped Mumbai to a 35-run win over Jammu and Kashmir.
-Bengal vs Uttarakhand: Shami makes a statement with 7 wickets
Uttarakhand started their fourth day at 165/2 in the second innings, with Kunal Chandela 68*, Bhupen Lalwani 12* unbeaten. They had a 55-run lead over Bengal, who had posted 323, powered by knocks from Sudip Chatterjee (98) and Sumanta Gupta (82) in reply to Uttarakhand's first innings total of 213 runs. Shami, who had taken 3/37 in the first innings, outdid himself with a spell of 4/38 as Bengal bundled out their opponents for 265 runs.
Bengal was set 156 runs to win, with their skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran (71*) and Sudip Kumar Gharami (46) playing crucial knocks in chasing it down with eight wickets left. Shami's performance earned him the 'Player of the Match' title.
-Madhya Pradesh vs Punjab: Patidar powers on with a double ton
MP, who had ended the day three at 519/8 with Patidar's 205* in 332 balls (with 26 fours) and fifties by Venkatesh Iyer (73 in 114 balls, with seven fours and a six) and Arshad Khan (60* in 60 ball, with three fours and five sixes) being the highlights, put Punjab to bat again with a lead of 287 runs in their hand. Uday Saharan, the debutant, had pushed Punjab to 232 in the first innings with an intelligent 75 in 169 balls (with eight fours) after they elected to bat first. Punjab ate half of the 287-run deficit, settling for a draw with the score at 143/5 in the second innings, with Uday Saharan (36 in 93 balls, with four boundaries) being the top-scorer again.
Patidar, the Duleep Trophy-winning skipper for Central Zone, continued his fine start to domestic cricket with a 'Player of the Match' worthy double ton.
-Mumbai vs Jammu and Kashmir: Mulani stars in 35-run win
J-K started the final day at 21/1, with Qamran Iqbal 11* and Musaif Ajaz 10*, unbeaten. Mumbai had put out 386 runs in their first innings after being put to bat first, with a century from Siddesh Lad (116) and a fine 91 from Mulani. J-K had followed it with 325 runs, trailing by 61 runs. Mulani (41) top-scored as MI posted 181 runs in their second innings, setting 243 runs to win for J-K. In the run-chase, Mulani (7/46) wiped out Jammu and Kashmir's batting almost single-handedly, bundling them out for 207 runs and sealing a win for his side by 35 runs. Mulani earned the 'Player of the Match' for his 10-wicket haul and total of 132 runs scored.
-Maharashtra vs Kerala: Gaikwad, Shaw secure draw
Ruturaj Gaikwad's 'Player of the Match' twin fifties, including a first innings 91 and a solid 75 by Prithvi Shaw in the second innings, were key as Maharashtra fought to a draw against last year's runners-up. Maharashtra started their final day of play at 51/0, with a lead of 71 runs in their hands. Shaw (75 in 102 balls, with seven fours) and half-centuries from Siddhesh Veer (55* in 197 balls, with two fours) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (55* in 81 balls, with three fours) took Mumbai to 224/2, and both sides settled for a draw.
-Saurashtra vs Karnataka: Jadeja's 10-for holds Karnataka to a draw
A 10-wicket haul by veteran spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja helped Saurashtra to earn a draw against Karnataka. Karnataka started their final day at the field on a score of 89/1, with Mayank Agarwal 31* and Devdutt Padikkal 18* unbeaten. Saurashtra had a four-run lead over Karnataka in their first innings. While Padikkal could not carry forward and got out for 19, as compared to his first innings of 96, Mayank posted a valiant 64, and Krishnan Shrijith (31 in 30 balls, with six fours) helped Karnataka reach 232 runs, leading them by 228 runs. It was Jadeja (3/79), who made it 10 wickets by adding to his first innings tally of 7/124. Chasing 229 runs, Gujarat settled for a draw at 128/5, with Sammar Gajjar (43*) and Prerak Mankad (4*) unbeaten.
-Rajasthan vs Chhattisgarh: Suthar's 11-wicket haul seals win
An 11-wicket haul from spinner Manav Suthar was a standout moment from Rajasthan's nine-wicket win. Chhattisgarh started day four at 64/4, with Aditya Sarwate 4*, Amandeep Khare 1* unbeaten. Ajay Mandal (144 in 229 balls, with 18 fours) took Chhattisgarh to 332 runs as they were put to field first, and Deepak Hooda (130 in 210 balls, with 15 fours and a six) pushed Rajasthan 54 runs ahead by taking them to 386 runs.
With Chhattisgarh starting at 64/4, Suthar continued his destructive ways, bundling out his opponets for just 109 runs. Chhattisgarh could only take 55 55-run lead as the spinner unleashed a spell of 8/42, which Rajasthan chased down easily.
-Delhi vs Hyderabad: Sanat Sangwan slams unbeaten double ton
Sanat Sangwan's fantastic 211* and 56 earned him the 'Player of the Match' during this match, which ended in a draw. Hyderabad started the day four at 400/7, with Rahul Radesh 41* unbeaten. Double tons from Sanat (211 in 470 balls, with 21 fours and three fifties) and Ayush Doseja (209 in 279 balls, with 25 fours and five sixes) pushed Delhi to 529/4 declared in their first innings. Hyderabad was bundled out for 411 runs, with Tanmay Agarwal (132 in 196 balls, with 15 fours) and Anikethreddy (87 in 100 balls, with 12 fours and two sixes) top-scoring. Delhi led by 118 runs as Ayush Badoni took 6/73. Delhi settled for a draw at 138/3, with Sanat (56) and Yash Dhull (53) unbeaten.