Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, batter Karun Nair, pacer Mohammed Shami and several uncapped players emerged as the standout performers as the first round of the Ranji Trophy 2026-27 concluded on Wednesday. Elite Group A: In Group A, Madhya Pradesh captain Shubham Sharma (106* off 200 balls, 7x4s, 3x6s) starred as his side posted 249/6 declared in their second innings against defending champions Jammu and Kashmir. Electing to field first, Jammu and Kashmir bowled Madhya Pradesh out for 196 in the first innings, with Sharma (79) also top-scoring then despite the efforts of Rohit Sharma (5/36) and Sunil Kumar (4/69). Madhya Pradesh secured a 76-run first-innings lead after bundling out Jammu and Kashmir for 120, with Avesh Khan claiming three wickets.
Set 326 for victory with a day remaining, Jammu and Kashmir slumped to 12/5, with Avesh once again making crucial breakthroughs. The match ended in a draw with Jammu and Kashmir on 88/7, as Kanhaiya Wadhawan (27*) and Auqib (30*) remained unbeaten. Elsewhere in Group A, three-time champions Vidarbha registered a 160-run win over Puducherry. Vidarbha elected to bat first and posted 428, powered by centuries from Akshay Wadkar (198 off 363 balls, 23x4s) and Yash Rathod (134 off 180 balls, 11x4s, 1×6). Puducherry replied with 313. On the final day, fifties from Aman Mokhade (65) and Dhruv Shorey (69*) helped Vidarbha reach 175/3 declared. Chasing 291, Puducherry were dismissed for 130, with Harsh Dubey (4/29) and Parth Rekhade (3/43) leading the bowling effort. Assam posted 373, with captain Denish Das (103) and Sibsankar Roy (143*) scoring centuries. In reply, Punjab declared at 478/6, taking a 105-run lead. Vihaan (103), Salil (110) and Emanjot (114*) all scored hundreds. In their second innings, Assam reached 157/6 before the match ended in a draw.
The match between Saurashtra and Chhattisgarh ended in a draw. Punjab also secured a draw against Assam, with centurions Vihaan Malhotra, Salil Arora and Emanjot Singh Chahal leading the way. Veteran pacer Umesh Yadav took seven wickets in the match, including a five-wicket haul in the first innings.
Later, with Madhya Pradesh struggling at 87/5 in their second innings, Sharma struck a century and shared an unbeaten 87-run partnership with Saransh Jain (35*) to help his side set a target of 326. Auqib Nabi (3/53) was the standout bowler for Jammu and Kashmir in the second innings. Centuries from Ravindra Jadeja (102) and Prerak Mankad (129) helped Saurashtra post 392 in their first innings. Chhattisgarh replied with 312, trailing by 80 runs. Jadeja (3/40) was the pick of the bowlers, while Jaydev Unadkat and Chetan Sakariya claimed two wickets each. Starting the final day on 45/0, Saurashtra batted out the remaining time, with Chirag Jani (127*) following up his first-innings 83 with a century. Jay Gohil remained unbeaten on 29. In the match between Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Karun Nair’s 155 off 242 balls (16x4s, 2x6s) helped Karnataka reach 337/9 declared in their second innings, setting Andhra Pradesh 194 to win. Karnataka had earlier been bowled out for 274 despite captain Ravichandran Smaran’s 126. Andhra Pradesh responded with 418, thanks to contributions from Sreeram Rahul (119), Revanth Reddy (97) and Shaik Rasheed (54), taking a 144-run lead. Resuming the final day at 176/4, Karnataka rode on Nair’s century to set Andhra Pradesh a target just short of 200. At stumps, Andhra Pradesh were 104/4, with Sreeram (35*) and Revanth (20*) unbeaten. KL Rahul endured a disappointing outing, registering scores of 4 and 1. Bengal made light work of a target of 89 after bowling Delhi out for 277 in their second innings despite captain Ayush Badoni’s fighting 85 off 134 balls. Delhi had posted 240 in the first innings before Bengal replied with 429, courtesy of centuries from Abishek Porel (149) and Sudip Kumar Gharami (133). Chasing 89, Bengal reached the target in 15.3 overs, with captain Abhimanyu Easwaran (34*) and Ankur Paul (38) leading the charge. Mohammed Shami was among the key contributors, returning figures of 4/30 in the first innings and claiming another wicket in the second. India Under-19 star and Royal Challengers Bengaluru all-rounder Kanishk Chauhan (50 and 2/27) starred in Haryana’s seven-wicket win over Himachal Pradesh. In reply to Himachal Pradesh’s first-innings total of 253, Haryana scored 296, with Kanishk’s brisk 50 and a useful partnership with Samant Jakhar (38) helping the side recover from 198/6. Himachal Pradesh were then bowled out for 113 in their second innings.
Anshul Kamboj followed up his first-innings four-wicket haul with two more wickets, while Kanishk also picked up two scalps.
Emanjot was named Player of the Match for his century and figures of 2/68. Chasing 71, Haryana slipped to 23/3 before Himanshu Rana (37*) and Dheeru Singh (24*) guided the team home. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) Wadkar was named Player of the Match. Jadeja was adjudged Player of the Match for his all-round performance.
