India’s star players made their return to elite domestic first-class competition, the Ranji Trophy, on Thursday; and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja marked his comeback with a five-wicket show for Saurashtra against Delhi in Rajkot.
After Delhi won the toss and opted to bat at the Niranjan Shah Stadium, Jadeja ran through the top-order and finished with figures of 5 for 66 in 17.4 overs, playing his first Ranji Trophy match since 2023.
As a result, Delhi were bowled out for 188 in 49.4 overs.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
Later, Jadeja returned to the field with the bat and contributed 38 runs to Saurashtra’s total that reached 163/5 at stumps on day one.
OTHER INDIAN STARS DISAPPOINT
India’s other star cricketers had a disappointing return to Ranji Trophy, with Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill registering low scores for their respective teams.
After a poor performance in Australia, Rohit made his first Ranji Trophy appearance in ten years for defending champions Mumbai, aiming to regain form before the upcoming Champions Trophy. However, his stint at the BKC ground against Jammu and Kashmir proved unsuccessful in Mumbai’s first innings.
Rohit (3) attempted his signature pull shot against Umar Nazir but ended up offering a leading edge, which J&K captain Paras Dogra caught at mid-off.
India captain’s opening colleague Yashasvi Jaiswal (4) also departed early when Auqib Nabi trapped the left-handed batter leg before wicket.
Champions Trophy squad member Shreyas Iyer (11) was dismissed when Yudhvir Singh had him caught at mid-on.
In Rajkot, Pant made his appearance for Delhi, his first since the 2017-2018 season, but his innings proved to be a brief one.
The aggressive left-handed batsman was caught at deep square leg while attempting a sweep shot off Saurashtra’s experienced left-arm spinner Dharmendrasingh Jadeja, managing just 1 run from 10 deliveries.
At Bengaluru, Punjab skipper Shubman Gill (4) edged one to the wicketkeeper in the match versus Karnataka.
The visiting team collapsed for just 55 runs as pacers Abhilash Shetty and Vasuki Koushik claimed seven wickets between them in a devastating spell.
Shetty dismissed Gill in the fourth over of the innings.