We finally capped off the fourth round of the ongoing Ranji Trophy, with Chandigarh (D), Vidarbha (B), Baroda (A) and Haryana (C) topping their respective groups as of now. In the Plate Group, it is Goa who are sitting pretty well with 26 points followed by Nagaland. The match that went till the last ball on the final day was between Andhra and Uttarakhand, where Srikar Bharat fell short of a well-deserved hundred.
Apart from this, defending champions Mumbai got their much-needed win, with Shams Mulani taking a fifer on Day 4. Jalaj Saxena, meanwhile, continued taking a bulk of wickets for Kerala. On the other hand, Delhi continued their poor form in the Ranji Trophy as they lost against Chandigarh.
Jalaj Saxena spins Kerala to a massive win
Kerala registered a resounding victory against Uttar Pradesh by an innings and 117 runs. Veteran all-rounder Jalaj Saxena was the architect of this win, claiming a match haul of 11 wickets. He ripped through the UP batting line-up on both occasions, picking up six wickets in the second innings after taking five in the first.
With this performance, Saxena further cemented his place in the record books, having become the first player to achieve the remarkable double of 6,000 runs and 400 wickets in the Ranji Trophy. UP’s batters had no answer to Saxena’s guile, succumbing to his spin bowling on a turning track at the St. Xavier’s College Ground in Thumba. Kerala had earlier taken a massive 233-run lead on the back of fifties from Salman Nizar (93) and Sachin Baby (83).
Himmat Singh’s Delhi fail again vs Chandigarh
In a major upset, Chandigarh stunned seven-time champions Delhi by nine wickets. Opener Shivam Bhambri played a pivotal role in this victory, scoring a fluent unbeaten century (100) to chase down a target of 203 runs. Delhi’s spin attack, which heavily relied on left-arm spinner Shivank Vashist, Sumit Mathur, and Hrithik Shokeen, failed to impress that too on a turning track.
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Dhull needs to be Delhi captain again?
Their inability to find their rhythm and bowl tight lines allowed Chandigarh to score freely and secure a comfortable win. This loss puts Delhi in a precarious position in Group D. With only three matches remaining, they will need to win all of them to secure a knock-out berth. The selection decisions for the Delhi team might also come under scrutiny, with questions being raised about the exclusion of a gritty left-hander like Jonty Sidhu and Himmat Singh’s captaincy. This defeat could reignite calls for Yash Dhull to be back in the leadership role.
Talking about Dhull, he starred with a superb century in the first innings. While the other batters failed to score a fifty, Dhull made 121 runs to take Delhi to 276 runs. Even in the second innings, he was a class apart, scoring 58 runs. The middle and lower order completely failed.
Shams Mulani continues to impress
Defending champions Mumbai continued their impressive campaign with an innings and 103-run victory over Odisha, powered by left-arm spinner Shams Mulani’s outstanding match figures of 11 wickets. Mulani, who claimed 6/115 in the first innings, followed it up with 5/71 in the second to earn the Player of the Match award.
The spinner’s performance was particularly crucial on the final day when he trapped Aashirwad Swain (51) LBW soon after the latter’s half-century, triggering a collapse in Odisha’s resistance. Mulani’s strategic variations in pace and angles proved too much for the Odisha batting lineup, despite a brief resistance from their lower order.
This performance has further enhanced Mulani’s impressive First-Class record, where he now boasts 213 wickets at an average of 24.10, including 15 five-wicket hauls and seven 10-wicket match hauls. In the current Ranji season, he has already claimed 23 wickets from just four matches at an average of 25.47.
Ranji Trophy Round 4 Results:
| Match | Result |
| Assam vs Tamil Nadu | Draw (Assam took 1st innings lead) |
| Jammu & Kashmir vs Meghalaya | J&K beat Meghalaya by 7 wickets |
| Nagaland vs Sikkim | Nagaland beat Sikkim by an innings and 39 runs |
| Goa vs Mizoram | Goa beat Mizoram by an innings and 169 runs |
| Manipur vs Arunachal Pradesh | Manipur beat Arunachal Pradesh by 320 runs |
| Chandigarh vs Delhi | Chandigarh beat Delhi by 9 wickets |
| Kerala vs Uttar Pradesh | Kerala beat UP by an innings and 117 runs |
| Haryana vs Punjab | Haryana beat Punjab by 37 runs |
| Rajasthan vs Hyderabad | Draw (Rajasthan took 1st innings lead) |
| Vidarbha vs Himachal Pradesh | Vidarbha beat Himachal by an innings and 88 runs |
| Mumbai vs Odisha | Mumbai beat Odisha by an innings and 103 runs |
| Gujarat vs Pondicherry | Draw (Gujarat took 1st innings lead) |
| Madhya Pradesh vs Bihar | MP beat Bihar by an innings and 108 runs |
| Chhattisgarh vs Railways | Draw (Chhattisgarh took 1st innings lead) |
| Karnataka vs Bengal | Draw (Bengal took 1st innings lead) |
| Jharkhand vs Saurashtra | Draw (Saurashtra took 1st innings lead) |
| Services vs Maharashtra | Services beat Maharashtra by 35 runs |
| Tripura vs Baroda | Draw (Tripura took 1st innings lead) |
| Andhra vs Uttarakhand | Draw (Uttarakhand took 1st innings lead) |
