Ranji Trophy 2019-20: Jharkhand Review

Jharkhand finished 6th in the Group in a season which started with a bang and then got derailed. There was the stunning come from behind opening game against Tripura where Jharkhand became the first team in the history of Ranji Trophy to win the game after following on. However, as the season progressed, the Saurabh Tiwary lead side saw more downs than ups and eventually ended 6th in the group.

Highs & Lows

• The opening encounter against Tripura, which got its own separate post
• Kumar Suraj’s good start to his first-class career. 
• Missing senior players like Nadeem, Ishan & Aaron on account of India A duties and injuries.

And I ran into the team at Hyderabad airport!

Season Summary Game by Game

Game 1: Tripura (289 & 211) lost to Jharkhand (136 & 418/8d (f/o)) by 54 runs 

Points: Jharkhand 6, Tripura 0

• First-Class Debut: Arnav Sinha, Vivekanand Tiwari
• First-Class Century #18 for Saurabh Tiwary 
• First-Class Century #19 for Ishank Jaggi 
• 1000 First-Class runs for Virat Singh & Nazim Siddiqui 
• Ashish Kumar – 2nd 5-wicket haul, Career - Best Innings & match figures

Game 2: Assam (162 & 186) lost to Jharkhand (415/9d) by innings & 67 runs 

Points: Jharkhand 7, Assam 0 

• First-Class Debut: Pankaj Kumar, the wicket-keeper 
• First-Class Century #3 for Nazim Siddiqui & Career-best 173

Game 3: Haryana (371) drew with Jharkhand (408/5) 

Points: Jharkhand 3, Haryana 1 

• First-Class Century #2 for Kumar Deobrat & Career-best 161 
• First-Class Century #19 for Saurabh Tiwary

Game 4: Jharkhand (259 & 155) lost to Jammu & Kashmir (441) by an innings & 27 runs 

Points: Jharkhand 0, Jammu & Kashmir 7 

Game 5: Maharashtra (434 & 48/2) beat Jharkhand (170 & 311 (f/o)) by 8 wickets 

Points: Jharkhand 0, Maharashtra 6 

• First-Class Debut – Kumar Suraj 
• 5-Wicket Haul #1 – Utkarsh Singh

Game 6: Uttarakhand (227 & 273) lost to Jharkhand (298 & 203/4) by 6 wickets 

Points: Jharkhand 6, Uttarakhand 0 

• 2000 First-Class Runs for Kumar Deobrat 
• 50 Catches for Sumit Kumar 
• 100 First-Class Wickets, 3rd 5-wicket haul & best match-figures for Ashish Kumar 
• 5-wicket haul #6 for Ajay Yadav 

Game 7: Services (279 & 259/8d) beat Jharkhand (153 & 267) by 118 runs 

Points: Jharkhand 0, Services 6 

• First-Class Debut for Sahil Raj 
• First-Class Century #1 for Kumar Suraj 
• 100 First-Class wickets for Rahul Shukla, 5th 5-wicket haul & best innings performance 

Game 8: Chhattisgarh (559) drew with Jharkhand (242 & 51/0) 

Points: Chhattisgarh 3, Jharkhand 1 

• First-Class Century #3 for Virat Singh & highest score 

Game 9: Odisha (436 & 187/1) drew with Jharkhand (356) 

Points: Odisha 3, Jharkhand 1 

• 100th First-Class Match for Saurabh Tiwary 
• First-Class Century #2 for Kumar Suraj 
• 5-wicket Haul #4 for Ashish Kumar 

Season Stats 

Most Runs:

1. Saurabh Tiwary – 641 @58.27, 2x100s & 3x50s
2. Kumar Deobrat – 515 @39.62, 1x100s & 2x50s
3. Kumar Suraj – 457 @57.13, 2x100 & 2x50s

Highest Score – Nazim Siddiqui – 173 vs Assam

Most Wickets

1. Ashish Kumar – 37 @221.78, 3x5s 
2. Rahul Shukla – 19 @34.42, 1x5s
3. Utkarsh Singh – 16 @40.44, 1x5s

Best Bowling – Rahul Shukla – 7/106 vs Services

Player Count: 21

First-Class Debuts: 5

Till next season! However there is the small matter of IPL in between, where the likes of Tiwary, Virat Singh, Ishan, Nadeem, Aaron and Monu would look to put in performances worth of the highlights reel. And maybe consolidate an A Spot.