Friday marked the start of Ranji Trophy 2025-26 elite quarterfinals, delivering edge-of-the-seat action. Mumbai and Jammu & Kashmir’s innings imploded cheaply, while other matches stayed competitive.
Jharkhand vs Uttarakhand in Jamshedpur saw the hosts bowled out for 235. Aditya Singh’s 83 was the highlight, backed by skipper Virat Singh’s 47. Uttarakhand’s Janmejay Joshi led the attack with 4 wickets, as Aditya Rawat and Mayank Mishra shared 6. The visitors played one over, reaching 4 without loss, 231 adrift.
In Indore, Jammu & Kashmir lost the toss and managed only 194. Shubham Khajuria’s 60 off 140 balls stood out, with Yuddhvir Singh on 41. MP’s Kuldeep Sen ripped through with 5/66, Kartikeya bagged 3, and Pandey 2. Madhya Pradesh were 28/0 after 10 overs, needing 167 more.
Andhra, batting first against Bengal in Kalyani, ended at 264/6. Ricky Bhui’s 83 anchored the innings, with Srikar Bharat (47), Rashid (46), and Reddy (33) contributing. Mukesh Kumar’s 3/50 headed Bengal’s effort, followed by Akash Deep (2) and Shami (1).
Mumbai’s decision to bat backfired disastrously at BKC, collapsing to 120 all out. Akhil Herwadkar’s 60 was insufficient as seven batsmen scored under 10. Kaverappa, Krishna, and Gopal each took 3 for Karnataka. In reply, Karnataka were 110/2, Agarwal 54* and Rahul 28. Awasthi and Shedge struck once each.
These results underline the quarterfinals’ unpredictability, with bowlers holding sway on a day of low scores and determined starts.
