The
Ranji Trophy is a domestic
first-class cricket championship played in
India between different city and state sides, equivalent to the
County Championship in
England and the
Sheffield Shield in
Australia. The competition is named after
Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji (
Jam Sahib of
Nawanagar, also known as "Ranji").
History
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
His Highness Maharajadhiraj Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, for whose team
Patiala XI Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji played . 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 39 wins, including 15 back-to-back wins from
1958–59 to
1972–73.
Format
Most of the teams playing in the Ranji Trophy represent
states of India. However, there are teams that represent individual cities such as
Mumbai or
Hyderabad. The competition also includes teams that have no regional affiliations, such as
Railways and
Services. Up until the
2002–03 season, the teams were grouped into five zones – North, West, East, Central and South – and initial matches were played within the zones on a league basis. The top teams (two until
1991–92, three after that) from each zone played in a national
knock-out competition, leading to a final which decided the winner of the tournament.
Points in the league stages of both divisions are awarded as follows:
| Scenario | Points |
| Win Outright | 5 |
| Bonus Point (for innings and 10 wicket wins) | 1 |
| 1st Innings Lead | 3 * |
| No Result | 1 |
| 1st Innings Deficit | 1 * |
| Lost Outright | 0 |
Starting with the 2002–03 season, the zonal system was abandoned and a two-division structure was adopted: the Elite Group and the Plate Group. For the
2006–07 season, the divisions were re-labelled the Super League and Plate League respectively.
The Super League is divided into two groups of eight and seven teams, while the Plate League is divided into two groups of six teams each. In both divisions, the top two teams from each group advance to the knock-out phase. The finalists from the Plate League are promoted to the Super League the next year while the two teams at the bottom of the Super League are relegated.
New Ranji format from 2008–09 season, the top two Plate teams join three teams each from the two groups in the Super League to play a knock-out from the quarter-final stage. The new format, thus, gives a relegated side realistic chance of winning the title.
The teams listed below are competing in the Ranji Trophy for the 2008–09 season. For a complete list of teams which have played in the competition at some point during its history, see
Ranji Trophy - Historical Note.
[edit] Super League
Current Season – Ranji Trophy 2008–09
[edit] Plate League
[edit] Tournament records
| Team records[1] |
| Most wins | 39 | Mumbai (formerly Bombay) |
| Highest team score | 944/6 decl. | Hyderabad v Andhra | 1993–94 [1] |
| Lowest team score | 22 | Southern Punjab v Northern India | 1934–35 [2] |
† Some sources credit Goel with 636 or 637 wickets instead — see
Rajinder Goel article for details.
[edit] Past winners
| Team | Won |
| Bombay\Mumbai | 39 |
| Delhi | 7 |
| Karnataka | 6 |
| Baroda | 5 |
| Holkar | 4 |
| Tamil Nadu | 2 |
| Bengal | 2 |
| Railways | 2 |
| Hyderabad | 2 |
| Maharashtra | 2 |
| Haryana | 1 |
| Nawanagar | 1 |
| Punjab | 1 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 1 |
| Western India | 1 |
[edit] See also
