Ranji Trophy 2019-20: Of gritty batsmanship\, controversies & a swansong

Ranji Trophy 2019-20: Of gritty batsmanship, controversies & a swansong

From Wasim Jaffer retiring after 260 first-class matches to Manoj Tiwary scoring his first-ever first-class hundred with a "customised bat" to an interruption caused by a snake, this Ranji Trophy season had it all.

Written by Rahul Sadhu | Updated: March 13, 2020 11:23:16 am
This Ranji season has been filled with moments like Sarfaraz Khan’s triple ton and a reptilian interruption.

The 2019-20 Ranji season was the 86th season of the Indian first-class cricket championship which was full of bright sparks as young batsmen rose to the occasion while the fading stars announced their departure into the horizon. Controversies and memorable moments also followed in tandem and amidst all these, it was Saurashtra who booked a spot in the Ranji Trophy final against a buoyant Bengal which began on March 9.

Both the teams were desperate to go all the way with Saurashtra reaching their fourth final in eight seasons while Bengal has not tasted success in the premier domestic event since the 1989-90 triumph. Saurashtra lifted their first Ranji Trophy on Day 5 on Friday under the captaincy of Jaydev Unadkat who is the leading wicket-taker (67 wickets) in this season. Let’s take a look back at some of the memorable moments of this season —

THE KNOCKS

Back from the clutches of cancer, Uttarakhand’s Kamal Kaniyal hit a fantastic debut hundred in Ranji Trophy. Gujarat skipper also made it a memorable season as he completed 11,000 runs in first-class cricket.

Bengal’s Manoj Tiwary hit a spectacular maiden triple century for Bengal on day two of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group A match against Hyderabad. Playing with a ‘specially customised bat’, Tiwary smashed a first-class triple hundred in an innings where no other batsman got a century.

The unstoppable Sarfaraz Khan had a season to remember for Mumbai from which they have scanty positives to take. Khan gave his team those rare moments of joy as he returned with dream run scores of 301*, 226*, 78 and 25.

THE CONTROVERSIES & THE MEMORIES

In a unique incident during a match between Andhra and Vidharbha a snake interrupted the proceedings to stop play at the Dr Gokaraju Liala Gangaaraju ACA Cricket Ground in Vijayawada. It took the groundstaff a while to get rid of the reptile from the playing area as the action kicked-off after a brief delay.

Another Ranji Trophy match between Karnataka and Baroda was marred in controversy after an on-air commentator stated that ‘every Indian must know Hindi as it is our mother tongue.’ The incident took place during the seventh over of Baroda’s second innings when one of the two commentators said: ‘I liked the fact that Sunil Gavaskar is commentating in Hindi and is giving his valuable in the same language. I also loved it that he called the dot ball as a ‘bindi’ ball.”

The other commentator Rajender Amarnath responded: “Every Indian must know Hindi. This is our mother tongue. There is no bigger language than this.”

“In fact, I look at those people with a lot of anger who say that we are cricketers still we should talk in Hindi? You are staying in India then you will obviously speak its mother tongue,” he said.

In another incident at Chandigarh’s ‘MCG’, vehicles drove past a sightscreen. Chandigarh’s Mahajan Cricket Ground is located inside a farmhouse. On Day 1 of the maiden Ranji match at the venue, cars drove past the sightscreen, bringing the play to an abrupt halt.

THE SWANSONG

In his first-class career which spanned for 260 matches, Wasim Jaffer scored 19,410 runs at an average of 50.67.

Former India opener Wasim Jaffer on Saturday announced retirement from all forms of cricket after amassing a mountain of runs in a glorious first-class career that spanned almost a quarter-century. Since making his first-class debut in 1996/97 with Mumbai, the 42-year-old became the highest run-scorer in the Ranji Trophy and Irani Trophy, besides scoring close to 2000 runs in Test cricket.

The ageless wonder scored his 91st first-class fifty in his last Ranji match against Kerala in February 2020 with a 57-run knock. Apart from the fifties, he has scored 57 hundreds with a highest score of 314. Playing as opening batsman, Jaffer represented India in 31 Tests between 2000 and 2008, scoring 1944 runs, including five hundreds and 11 fifties. He also has a double hundred to his name — a highest score of 212 in West Indies in 2006.

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