Air Force Complex Ground: Tripura pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the 2026/27 Ranji Trophy by defeating former champions Saurashtra by 133 runs on the final day of their Elite Group B clash. Set 342 to win, Saurashtra were undone once again by off-spinner Sandip Sarkar.
He followed his first-innings figures of 4-48 with 4-81, and finished with eight wickets in the match. Arpit Vasavada made 89, the only half-century of the second innings for Saurashtra, and was the last man to be dismissed after he was run out by Manisankar Murasingh to seal a famous win for Tripura in Agartala. Sridam Paul was named Player of the Match for scores of 86 and 50.
At the Brabourne Stadium, 42-time champions Mumbai beat Railways by 106 runs to get their fourth straight outright win of the season. Mumbai had to wait until the final session to clinch the victory.
Railways were 250/5 at the last drinks break and seemed set to escape with a draw. Eshaan Goyal and Zubair Ali had rebuilt the innings from 83/5 in the 31st over with a 167-run sixth-wicket stand.
But on the very first ball after drinks, Goyal attempted a paddle sweep off Musheer Khan, and Musheer’s brother Sarfaraz, anticipating the shot from first slip, moved swiftly towards leg slip to take the catch.
A couple of overs later, Musheer had Ali caught at long-off. Raj Choudhary and Himanshu Sangwan dug in for a while in an attempt to take Railways to a draw. But Tanush Kotian removed Choudhary, and Musheer came back to dismiss Sangwan and wrap up the win for Mumbai, as Railways lost their last five wickets for 15 runs.
Elsewhere, Hyderabad scraped home by one wicket against Chhattisgarh in a nail-biting chase of 259 at the Gymkhana Ground. At 220/9, Hyderabad looked beaten, but a 39-run last-wicket stand off 104 balls turned the game, and Rakshann Readdi finished it with a six over long-off. The win also took Hyderabad to the top of the Group B table with 20 points.
At the Eden Gardens, Maharashtra thrashed Bengal by 10 wickets in an Elite Group C clash. Bad light had cut into play on three days, but Maharashtra still had time to secure a bonus point. Pradeep Dhade and Hitesh Walunj took four wickets each on day for as Bengal were bowled out for 186 in their second innings, leaving Maharashtra a target of 112 to chase.
Openers Sachin Dhas and Prithvi Shaw knocked it off in just 19.4 overs. While Dhas was unbeaten on 61 off 68 balls with 10 fours, and reached his fifty in 43 deliveries, Shaw made an unbeaten 53 off 50 balls, laced with three fours and four sixes, and got his half-century in 47 balls.
It was Maharashtra’s biggest win of the season and their second outright victory. The seven points took them to 19, past previous leaders Bengal, who suffered their first defeat of the season.
In Ahmedabad, Gujarat crushed Kerala by an innings and 58 runs to get a bonus-point victory. Urvil Patel’s unbeaten 210 set up the win, while Arzan Nagwaswalla finished with match figures of 8-83, including 4-24 on the last day, as Kerala were bowled out for 197 after being made to follow on.
Tamil Nadu needed three wickets on the final day, and Ajith Ram took them all, finishing with 7-48 to seal the win over Chandigarh. At the Air Force Complex Ground in Palam, Yash Dhull’s first hundred of the season helped Delhi hold on for a draw against Services and take three points due to taking a first-innings lead.
Chasing 320, Delhi slipped to 119/4 just before tea when Nitin Tanwar removed Ayush Doseja for 14. But Dhull stood firm and finished unbeaten on 104 off 104 balls, with 11 fours and two sixes. He reached his century off 102 deliveries, shortly before the teams shook hands with Delhi, ending on 168/4 after 38 overs.
Services captain Rajat Paliwal completed a century in each innings, while ex-Delhi player Mohit Ahlawat made 142 as Services declared their second innings at 397/9. Elsewhere, several games ended in draws. Uttar Pradesh made 492, built on Adarsh Singh’s 162 and Madhav Kaushik’s 137, and Prashant Veer took 3-42, but they could not get a win over Baroda in Kanpur.
Jammu and Kashmir piled up 555/6 and took a 170-run first-innings lead over Pondicherry, who batted out the game thanks to Ankit Sharma’s 62 in Srinagar. Andhra replied to Punjab’s 592/9 with 505/8 to secure a draw. Shaik Rasheed made 176, while Karan Shinde fell four runs short of a hundred.
Rain cost Jharkhand plenty of overs against Odisha, who reached 280/7 on the final day as the match was drawn. Pukhraj Mann’s unbeaten 153 on the final day saved the game for Himachal Pradesh against Rajasthan.
All three Plate Group matches produced results. Satyajeet Bachhav followed his first-innings 6-50 with figures of 7-33 as Sikkim beat Manipur by 201 runs. Nagaland bowled out Meghalaya for 172 in the second innings to win by 122 runs.
Rain cost Jharkhand plenty of overs against Odisha, who reached 280/7 on the final day as the match was drawn. Pukhraj Mann’s unbeaten 153 on the final day saved the game for Himachal Pradesh against Rajasthan.
Article Source: IANS
