Ranji Trophy
| Ranji Trophy | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Countries |  India |
| Administrator | BCCI |
| Format | First-class cricket |
| First tournament | 1934 |
| Tournament format | Round-robin then knockout |
| Number of teams | 27 |
| Current champion | Mumbai (40th title) |
| Most successful | Mumbai (40 titles) |
| Most runs | Wasim Jaffer |
| Most wickets | Rajinder Goel (640) 1958–1985 |
 2012–13 Ranji Trophy |
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Ranji Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between teams representing regional cricket associations, equivalent to the County Championship in England and the Sheffield Shield in Australia. The competition is named after England and Yorkshire cricketer Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji (Jam Sahib of Nawanagar, also known as "Ranji"). The latest title is won by Mumbai (Mumbai's 40th title) on 28 January 2013 at Mumbai. Mumbai defeated Saurashtra by an inning and 125 runs.
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History [edit]
The competition was launched as "The Cricket Championship of India" following a meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India in July 1934, with the first fixtures taking place in 1934–35. The trophy was donated by Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala. The first Ranji Trophy Championship was won by Bombay after they defeated North India in the final. Syed Mohammed Hadi of Hyderabad was the first batsman to score a hundred.
Mumbai (formerly Bombay) have been the dominant team in the Championship so far, with 40 wins, including 15 back-to-back wins from 1958–59 to 1972–73.
Participants [edit]
State teams and cricket associations and clubs with first-class status are qualified to play in the Ranji Trophy. While most association are regional, like the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association and Mumbai Cricket Association some are pan-Indian like Railways and Services.
Past teams which have played in the Ranji Trophy include Army, Central India, East Punjab, Holkar, Northern India, Northern Punjab, North West Frontier Province, Sind and Southern Punjab. While Army, Central India, East Punjab, Holkar, Northern India and Northern Punjab were eventually disbanded, North West Frontier Province, Sind and Southern Punjab were considered ineligible after the regions became part of Pakistan.
Format [edit]
From its inception until the 2001-02 season, the teams were grouped geographically into four or five zones – North, West, East, and South, with Central added in 1952-53. Initial matches were played within the zones on a knock-out basis until 1956-57, and thereafter on a league basis, to determine a winner. Then, the individual zone winners competed in a knock-out tournament, leading to a final which decided the winner of the Ranji Trophy. In the 1970-71 season, the knock-out stage was expanded to the top two teams from each zone, a total of ten qualifying teams. This was expanded again to the top three from each zone in 1992-93, a total of fifteen qualifying teams; between 1996–97 and 1999-2000, the fifteen qualifying teams competed in a secondary group stage, with three groups of five teams, and the top two from each group qualifying for the knock-out stage; in all other years, a full fifteen-team knock-out tournament was held.
The format was changed in 2002–03 season with the zonal system abandoned and a two-division structure was adopted – the Elite Group, containing fifteen teams, and the Plate Group, containing the rest. Each group has two sub-groups who play a round-robin; the top two from each sub-group then contest a knock-out tournament to determine the winner. The team which finishes last in each Elite sub-group is relegated, and both Plate Group finalists are promoted, for the following season. For the 2006–07 season, the divisions were re-labelled the Super League and Plate League respectively.
In the 2008–09 season, the current format was adopted to allow Plate Group teams to contest the Ranji Trophy. The top two from each Plate sub-group contest semi-finals; the winners of these two matches then join the top three from each Super League sub-group in an eight-team knock-out tournament. The winner of this knock-out tournament then wins the Ranji Trophy. In 2010-11 season, history was created when a plate group team "Rajasthan" not only entered into the Elite Group but went on to win their maiden Ranji Trophy final.
From the 2012-13 season, the format was revamped completely. The Super and plate groups were cancelled and in place, a format with A, B, C group was created. Three teams from group A&B proceeded to knockouts and 2 from group C. The lowest placed team of Group A were relegated to Group B next time, lowest placed of group B relegated to C . Top team of Group C promoted to group B and top team of group B promoted to group A. The knockout format remains same except that, to get an outright result from final an extra sixth day is available instead of the restricted five days
Knock-out matches in the Ranji Trophy are decided on the first innings result if the final result is a draw.
The matches are a 4 day match format except for the knockout matches which are played for five days just as a regular test match.
Points summary [edit]
Points in the league stages of both divisions are currently awarded as follows:
| Scenario | Points |
|---|---|
| Win outright | 6 |
| Bonus point (for innings and 10 wicket wins) | 1 |
| 1st innings lead | 3 * |
| No result | 1 |
| 1st Innings deficit | 1 * |
| Lost Outright | 0 |
note* – If match ends in a draw.
Teams [edit]
For a complete list of teams which have played in the competition at some point during its history, see Ranji Trophy - Historical Note.
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Group A |
Group B |
