 "Indian stars in Ranji Trophy: Kohli's Delhi sign off with innings win; Thakur shines in Mumbai’s victory over Meghalaya")
Half of the 32 teams taking part in the Ranji Trophy elite competition are done with the group stage of the 2024-25 with a day still left. Some teams such as defending champions Mumbai and former champions Tamil Nadu and Saurashtra are already through to the knockouts. Others such as Bengal and Delhi were already eliminated from the race to the quarter-finals, and signed off with commanding victories.
With Day 3 of the seventh-round of group fixtures coming to an end on Saturday, we take a look at how some of the biggest names in Indian cricket including Virat Kohli and KL Rahul fared:
Virat Kohli, Delhi vs Railways in New Delhi
Indian superstar Kohli was not required to bat again after getting cleaned up by Himanshu Sangwan for 6 on Friday as Delhi bundled Railways out for 114 in their second innings to collect an innings and 19-run win.
Moments to cherish. Memories etched 👌😀#RanjiTrophy | @IDFCFIRSTBank | @imVkohli pic.twitter.com/N5GdKnxkAv
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) February 1, 2025
The victory, however, was not enough for the seven-time Ranji champions to qualify for the quarter-finals as they finished at the third spot in Group D with 21 points.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsKL Rahul, Karnataka vs Haryana in Bengaluru
Rahul missed out on a half-century for the second time in three days in the Group C match between Karnataka and Haryana at Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium. After scoring 26 off 37 balls on the opening day , Rahul came to the rescue of the Mayank Agarawal-led hosts with a knock of 43 off 67 balls that contained seven fours, stitching a 57-run third-wicket stand with Devdutt Padikkal (41 not out).
At stumps on Saturday, Karnataka were 108/3, trailing by another 38 runs after conceding a first innings lead of 146. Like Delhi, Karnataka too are out of contention as far as the quarter-finals are concerned.
Ajinkya Rahane and Shardul Thakur, Mumbai vs Meghalaya in Mumbai
Thakur’s all-round display (4/43, 84 and 4/48) earned him the Player of the Match award as Mumbai hammered Meghalaya by an innings and 456 runs to jump to the top of Group A in the latest standings, though whether they will finish at that spot or not will depend on the result of the Baroda vs Jammu and Kashmir match.
तूला मानलं रे THAKUR 👏#RanjiTrophy #MCA #Mumbai #Cricket #BCCI pic.twitter.com/g7T6sLd0nm
— Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) (@MumbaiCricAssoc) February 1, 2025
Mumbai had posted a mammoth 671/7 in response to Meghalaya’s first innings total of 86 thanks to centuries from Siddhesh Lad (145), Akash Anand (103) and Shams Mulani (100 not out) as well as fifties from skipper Ajinkya Rahane (96), Thakur and Suryansh Shedge (61). Thakur would then collect a second consecutive four-fer, and together with Tanush Kotian (4/15), help the defending champions bowl Meghalaya out for 129 in their second essay.
Cheteshwar Pujara, Saurashtra vs Assam in Rajkot
Also pulling off an innings win on Saturday was Saurashtra, who bowled Assam out for 164 and 166 in a space of 24 hours after posting 474 on the board thanks to Harvik Desi’s 130 as well as fifties from Cheteshwar Pujara (99), Chirag Jani (80) and Sammar Gajjar (60 not out).
Left-arm spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (4/61 and 5/50) was the pick of the bowlers in both Assam innings and was adjudged the Player of the Match as a result. Thanks to their victory, Saurashtra finished at the top of Group D, ahead of Tamil Nadu who finished second after a 44-run loss against Jharkhand in Jamshedpur.
Wriddhiman Saha, Bengal vs Punjab in Kolkata
Veteran wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha, meanwhile, bid an emotional goodbye to competitive cricket after Bengal thrashed Punjab by an innings and 13 runs at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. After collecting a 152-run first innings lead with a score of 343, in which Saha was dismissed for a seven-ball duck on farewell, the two-time Ranji champions bundled Punjab out for 139 thanks.
A special and emotional farewell 🫂
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) January 31, 2025
Guard of honour and felicitation for Bengal wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha who is playing his final First-class match 👏👏#RanjiTrophy | @IDFCFIRSTBank | @Wriddhipops
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/GAuG6Mqk8H pic.twitter.com/DGCJRh4QWT
Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal (4/68 and 4/69) led the way with a second consecutive four-fer which, together with his knock of 111 off 185 deliveries, earned him the Player of the Match award.
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
