Ranji trophy 1st leg: Top 10 performances

So here we are, the 1st leg of the Ranji trophy has concluded with all the teams having played their first matches. For the major part of the outcomes, ‘a draw’ seems the most common. While Mumbai tasted victory against Railways, the Baroda and Tamil Nadu match lasted for only 12 overs, thanks to rain.

Some players who were expected to set the stage on fire missed big time, Harbhajan Singh being the biggest loser while some others who had an opportunity to present their case to the selectors, for instance, the Pathan Brothers, didn’t get a chance. However, the first Ranji leg did witness some of the bravo performance from some of the individuals who are listed as follows.

1. Ravindra Jadeja(314) v/s Orissa : The much critised all – rounder of the Indian Cricket Team scored a triple century and pushed his case for the regular all rounder spot in the team. This was the 27th occasion of a triple century by a batsman in Ranji trophy and highest scorer for Saurashtra passing Cheteshwar Pujara‘s previous best 302*.

2. Natraj Behera(209) v/s Saurashtra : While Jadeja stroked a triple century, his counterpart, Natraj Behera replied aptly with a 209 helping his side to held on to draw in their encounter.

3. Manoj Tiwary(132) v/s Gujarat : Amidst much anticipation of Sourav Ganguly‘s comeback to Bengal Ranji Team, the person who stole the limelight from Dada was Manoj Tiwary. He continued his consistency in the Ranji circuit with yet another century which helped his side to reach a mammoth 560 runs.

4. Parthiv Patel(143) v/s Bengal : And Parthiv Patel never fails. Despite not being in form in the recently concluded ODI series against England, he opened his Ranji account with an outstanding century to provide the counter attack to the Bengal’s high score.

5. Mandeep Singh(175* and 51) v/s UP : Mandeep Singh was a lone fighter to present their case for Punjab against UP in their on-field battle. Looking completely at ease against the strong UP bowling, this young man is definitely a future prospect for the Indian Team.

6. Suresh Raina(204*) v/s Punjab : Raina is in the form of his life and can’t do anything wrong at the moment. Captaining for the first time for UP in Ranji, Raina scored a brisk and timely double century, that too unbeaten, to take his side beyond the reach of Harbhajan’s Punjab team. No doubt, he is pushing Yuvraj for that no. 6 position in Tests.

7. Rohit Sharma(175) v/s Railways : After being left out from the team for sometime due to finger injury, Rohit Sharma announced his comback in a grand style by scoring the highest score from his side against the Railways which propelled Mumbai to a comfortable 10 wicket win.

8. Rudra Pratap Singh(5/72) v/s Punjab : After his dismal performance on the England tour, RP Singh showed what he is capable of if in rhythm as he ran through the Punjab batting line up on the first day of the match to ensure the total never reach out of their control.

9. Shreyas Khanolkar(5/78) v/s Mumbai : The only positive gained by Railways from their encounter against Mumbai was the veteran off-spinner who made the Mumbai Batmen dance to his tunes to some level and prevent Railways from an innings defeat.

10. Lalith Mohan(5/55) v/s Jharkhand : The stand out bowling performance from the young 21 year old Lalith Mohan makes it to the list. The slow left armer ensured that Hyderabad got a huge 1st innings lead and secured their 2 points without much hassles against Jharkhand.