Ranji Trophy, 2018-19: Rating Indian Internationals from Round 1
The 85th season of India's premier first-class tournament, the Ranji Trophy has got off to a good start with an increase in teams and matches. From 28 teams last year, it has risen to 37 teams thanks to reinstating of Bihar. BCCI also added new teams in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Sikkim, and Uttarakhand. All the new teams have been placed in a plate group with top team qualifying for the quarterfinals.
Other teams were split into three groups with Nine teams in Group A and B, while ten teams constitute Group C. Top two teams from group c qualify for the quarterfinals and five teams from group A and B combine form the last 8.
Outright wins were achieved in the plate division, as newbies were exposed to high competitive cricket. Former Delhi batsman Milind Kumar who turned up for Sikkim hit a blistering 261 and took his team to an innings win after tottering at 15/5.
The elite division saw Uttar Pradesh notch up an innings win over Goa on the backdrop skipper Akshdeep Nath's 194. Gujarat also started their campaign with a win over Baroda. They chased down a tricky 168 with just loss of one wicket. There were few impressive individual performances from the elite division as well.
Centuries from Ishan Kishan, Aditya Tare and Ricky Bhui helped Jharkhand, Mumbai, and Andhra respectively to gain 3 points by virtue of First innings lead. Faiz Fazal batted for a day and a half to save defending champions Vidarbha from a loss. Bowlers also threw up some impressive spells with Tamil Nadu's M.Mohammad claiming a hat-trick against Madhya Pradesh. The round also saw some of India's Test regulars appear for their state teams.
Here are player ratings of India's Test regulars:
Murali Vijay (3/10)
The Tamil Nadu batsman's comeback hasn't been off to a great start as he scored 19 against Madhya Pradesh in the rain-affected game in Dindigul. He would need a couple of good scores to get his opening slot back after being dropped midway during the England tour.
Cheteshwar Pujara (6/10)
Pujara survived an injury scare when he was retired hurt for 30 due to a sore neck. He came back and scored 56 off 116 balls as Saurashtra posted a huge total against Chhattisgarh. India would love to have him full of runs and fitness, when they take the field on Dec 6 at Adelaide.
Ravichandran Ashwin (6/10)
Ashwin picked up four wickets against Madhya Pradesh at Dindigul. He broke a 120-run stand for the second wicket and then came back to clean up the tail, which is something Virat Kohli would be expecting come to the challenge against Aussies. His fitness was also on prime display as he bowled long spells.
Parthiv Patel (5/10)
Parthiv Patel had an average game both with the bat and gloves against Baroda. He scored just 25 in the first innings. But with the gloves, he took three catches and a stumping and led Gujarat to a win in their first-round match against Baroda. With him being picked as one of the wicket-keepers for the tour of Australia, he could stake a claim for a place with some noteworthy performances in the following rounds.
Hanuma Vihari (2.5/10)
Hanuma Vihari failed to get some good match practice as he scored just 19 against a good Punjab bowling attack. The Andhra batsman who got the nod ahead of Karun Nair in the Oval Test has to put some quality performance as he will be facing stiff competition with comeback man Rohit Sharma for the No.6 spot.
Jaydev Unadkat (9/10)
Jaydev Unadkat had an excellent outing with the ball picking up 7 wickets in an innings. He bowled his heart out in a flat deck at Rajkot and broke partnerships at crucial junctures which gave Saurashtra the first innings lead. He would be back on selector's radar, as India is in search of quality left-arm pacers.
Abhinav Mukund (3/10)
Abhinav Mukund also had an average game scoring 28 in the only innings Tamil Nadu batted. He has always been on the selectors' radar, with no prominent left-handers in the batting line-up he could always get a surprise call-up to the Test squad.
Jayant Yadav (3/10)
Jayant Yadav, who played an important role in India's last home series wins against England and Australia hasn't met his expectations. He scored a meagre nine and picked up three wickets in the match. Selectors have put faith in him by appointing him as the captain of India emerging teams Asia cup and he would like to repay it with some notable performances.