|  The Ranji Trophy, awarded to the winners | |
| Dates | 6 October 2016 – 14 January 2017 | 
|---|---|
| Administrator(s) | BCCI | 
| Cricket format | First-class cricket | 
| Tournament format(s) | Round-robin then knockout | 
| Host(s) |  India | 
| Champions | Gujarat (1st title) | 
| Participants | 28 | 
| Most runs | Priyank Panchal (1,310) (Gujarat) | 
| Most wickets | Shahbaz Nadeem (56) (Jharkhand) | 
The 2016–17 Ranji Trophy was the 83rd season of the Ranji Trophy, the premier first-class cricket tournament in India. Unlike previous seasons, the 2016–17 tournament was played at neutral venues.[1][2][3] Captains and coaches were supportive of the change.[4] Chhattisgarh cricket team made their debut in the competition, becoming the 28th team to compete in this edition of the Ranji Trophy.[5][6] Mumbai were the defending champions.[7] Gujarat beat Mumbai in the final by 5 wickets to win their first title.[8]
In September 2016, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the dates, groups and fixtures for the competition.[9] The pink ball was used in the tournament, to help the BCCI make a decision on playing a day/night Test match.[10]
In October 2016 during the Group B fixture between Maharashtra and Delhi, Swapnil Gugale and Ankit Bawne playing for Maharashtra, set a record partnership total in the Ranji Trophy, with 594 runs. It was also the second-highest partnership in the history of first-class cricket.[11]
Two group stage fixtures, the Group A match between Gujarat and Bengal and the Group C match between Hyderabad and Tripura, were abandoned because of smog pollution.[12] Initially, the BCCI rescheduled the fixtures to take place after the conclusion of the group stages.[12] As a result of the rescheduled matches, the dates of the matches in the knockout phase of the competition were moved back to accommodate the rearranged fixtures.[12] Both the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) and the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) opposed the rescheduling of the fixtures.[13] The MCA joint-secretary Unmesh Khanvilkar said that it "gives unfair advantage to the participating teams with respect to their qualification the knockout phase".[13] Kasi Viswanathan, secretary of the TNCA, said that "the matches should not be rescheduled and that points should be shared".[13] The BCCI reviewed the decision to reschedule the matches.[14] In December 2016, they revoked the changes and awarded each team one point from the abandoned matches.[15]
Mumbai, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu from Group A, Jharkhand, Karnataka and Odisha from Group B and Hyderabad and Haryana from Group C all qualified for the knockout stage of the tournament.[16][17][18][19] The dates of the quarter-finals were brought forward by one day and the semi-finals by two days.[20] The Holkar Stadium in Indore hosted the final on 10 January 2017, two days earlier than originally planned.[20]
In the semi-finals Gujarat beat Jharkhand by 123 runs to reach only their second final in the history of the Ranji Trophy, having previously played in the 1950–51 final.[21] Mumbai beat Tamil Nadu by 6 wickets to progress to their 46th final in the Ranji Trophy.[22]
Personnel changes
Players
| Player/Coach | From | To | Role | 
|---|---|---|---|
| S Badrinath | Vidarbha | Hyderabad | Batsman | 
| Iqbal Abdulla | Mumbai | Kerala | All-rounder | 
| Ambati Rayudu | Baroda | Vidarbha | Batsman | 
| Mohammad Kaif | Andhra | Chhattisgarh | Batsman | 
| Bhavin Thakkar | Mumbai | Kerala | Bowler | 
| Hanuma Vihari | Hyderabad | Andhra | All-rounder | 
| Bhargav Bhatt | Gujarat | Andhra | All-rounder | 
| Dwaraka Ravi Teja | Hyderabad | Andhra | All-rounder | 
| Ashutosh Singh | Madhya Pradesh | Chhattisgarh | Batsman | 
| Pankaj Rao | Madhya Pradesh | Chhattisgarh | Batsman | 
| Sumit Ruikar | Vidarbha | Chhattisgarh | Batsman | 
| Manjeet Singh | Rajasthan | Railways | Batsman | 
| Nikhil Doru | Rajasthan | Railways | Batsman | 
| Jalaj Saxena | Madhya Pradesh | Kerala | All-rounder | 
| Mittal Ravaliya | Baroda | Chhattisgarh | Batsman | 
| Prasanth Parameswaran | Goa | Kerala | Bowler | 
| Anustup Majumdar | Railways | Bengal | Batsman | 
| Smit Patel | Gujarat | Tripura | Wicket-keeper | 
| Yashpal Singh | Services | Tripura | Batsman | 
Coaches
| Coach | From | To | Role | 
|---|---|---|---|
| Bharat Arun | Vidarbha | Hyderabad | Coach [23] | 
| Sulakshan Kulkarni | Chhattisgarh | Coach [23] | |
| Hrishikesh Kanitkar | Goa | Tamil Nadu | Coach [23] | 
| Sunil Joshi | Jammu & Kashmir | Assam | Coach [23] | 
| Shrikant Kalyani | Maharashtra | Coach [23] | |
| Jacob Martin | Baroda | Coach [23] | |
| Jai Prakash Yadav | Railways | Coach [23] | |
| Sanath Kumar | Assam | Andhra | Coach [23] | 
| Akshay Tandale | Maharashtra | Asst. Coach [23] | |
| KP Bhaskar | Delhi | Coach [23] | |
| Amit Bhandari | Delhi | Asst. Coach [23] | |
Teams
The teams were drawn in the following groups:[9]
Group A
Points table
| Team[24] | Pld | W | L | D | A | Pts | NRR | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mumbai | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 30 | +0.027 | 
| Gujarat | 8 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 26 | +0.368 | 
| Tamil Nadu | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 26 | +0.164 | 
| Punjab | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 21 | +0.109 | 
| Bengal | 8 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 21 | –0.235 | 
| Madhya Pradesh | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 20 | +0.024 | 
| Uttar Pradesh | 8 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 13 | –0.124 | 
| Baroda | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 10 | –0.003 | 
| Railways | 8 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 10 | –0.368 | 
- Top three teams advanced to knockout stage.
Group B
Points table
| Team[24] | Pld | W | L | D | A | Pts | NRR | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jharkhand | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 39 | +0.399 | 
| Karnataka | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 37 | +0.273 | 
| Odisha | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 22 | +0.054 | 
| Delhi | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 21 | +0.579 | 
| Maharashtra | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 21 | –0.059 | 
| Vidarbha | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 20 | –0.025 | 
| Saurashtra | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 18 | +0.101 | 
| Rajasthan | 8 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 12 | –0.637 | 
| Assam | 8 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 8 | –0.620 | 
- Top three teams advanced to knockout stage.
Group C
Points table
| Team[24] | Pld | W | L | D | A | Pts | NRR | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hyderabad | 9 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 31 | –0.117 | 
| Haryana | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 31 | +0.218 | 
| Andhra | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 28 | +0.119 | 
| Himachal Pradesh | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 26 | +0.664 | 
| Kerala | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 25 | +0.206 | 
| Goa | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 18 | –0.330 | 
| Services | 9 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 16 | –0.177 | 
| Jammu and Kashmir | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 15 | –0.383 | 
| Chhattisgarh | 9 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 14 | –0.011 | 
| Tripura | 9 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 14 | –0.196 | 
- Top two teams advanced to knockout stage
Knockout stage
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | ||||||||||||
| A1 | Mumbai | 294 & 217 | ||||||||||||
| C1 | Hyderabad | 280 & 201 | ||||||||||||
| A1 | Mumbai | 411 & 251/4 | ||||||||||||
| A3 | Tamil Nadu | 305 & 356/6d | ||||||||||||
| A3 | Tamil Nadu | 152 & 87/3 | ||||||||||||
| B2 | Karnataka | 88 & 150 | ||||||||||||
| A1 | Mumbai | 228 & 411 | ||||||||||||
| A2 | Gujarat | 328 & 313/5 | ||||||||||||
| A2 | Gujarat | 263 & 641 | ||||||||||||
| B3 | Odisha | 199 & 81/1 | ||||||||||||
| A2 | Gujarat | 390 & 252 | ||||||||||||
| B1 | Jharkhand | 408 & 111 | ||||||||||||
| C2 | Haryana | 258 & 262 | ||||||||||||
| B1 | Jharkhand | 345 & 178/5 | ||||||||||||
Quarter-finals
| v | ||
- Mumbai won the toss and elected to bat.
| v | ||
- Tamil Nadu won the toss and elected to field.
- Dinesh Karthik (Tamil Nadu) played in his 100th Ranji Trophy match.[25]
| v | ||
- Odisha won the toss and elected to field.
- Samit Gohel (Gujarat) scored his first triple century in first-class cricket and the 40th triple century in the Ranji Trophy. His 359 not out is the highest score for carrying the bat in first-class cricket.[26]
| v | ||
- Haryana won the toss and elected to bat.
Semi-finals
| v | ||
- Tamil Nadu won the toss and elected to bat.
- Prithvi Shaw (Mumbai) and Ganga Sridhar Raju (Tamil Nadu) both made their first-class debuts.
- Prithvi Shaw became the first player for Mumbai to score a century on debut in the Ranji Trophy since Amol Muzumdar did so in the 1993–94 tournament.[22]
| v | ||
- Gujarat won the toss and elected to bat.
Final
| v | ||
- Gujarat won the toss and elected to field.
- This was the highest successful run-chase in the final of the Ranji Trophy.[27]
References
- ↑ "BCCI revamps Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy structure". ESPNcricinfo. 24 June 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
- ↑ "Ranji Trophy to be held at neutral venues, confirms BCCI". Times of India. 24 June 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
- ↑ "BCCI announces new T20 domestic league, approves Ranji Trophy matches at neutral venues". Indian Express. 24 June 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
- ↑ "Captains, coaches open to neutral Ranji venues". ESPNcricinfo. 24 June 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
- ↑ "Kaif to lead debutants Chhattisgarh in 2016-17 season". ESPNcricinfo. 18 July 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
- ↑ "BCCI yet to unveil domestic schedule and details". ESPNcricinfo. 10 August 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
- ↑ "Iyer, Lad to miss opener; Unmukt to lead Delhi". ESPNcricinfo. 4 October 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
- ↑ "Parthiv 143 leads Gujarat to maiden title". ESPNcricinfo. 14 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
- 1 2 "Ranji Trophy to have its earliest final". ESPNcricinfo. 2 September 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
- ↑ "Pink ball to be used in Ranji Trophy". ESPNcricinfo. 10 September 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- ↑ "The second-highest partnership in first-class cricket". ESPNcricinfo. 14 October 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
- 1 2 3 "Rescheduled matches to delay Ranji knockouts". ESPNcricinfo. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
- 1 2 3 "TN, Mumbai fume over Ranji fixtures rescheduling". ESPNcricinfo. 27 November 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ "BCCI to review Ranji matches rescheduling decision". ESPNcricinfo. 3 December 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- ↑ "Odisha-Jharkhand Ranji game rescheduled". ESPNcricinfo. 6 December 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
- ↑ "Iyer ton helps Mumbai hang on for draw". ESPNcricinfo. 10 December 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
- ↑ "Saurashtra knock Delhi out; Odisha through". ESPNcricinfo. 10 December 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
- ↑ "Hyderabad hold on to qualify". ESPNcricinfo. 10 December 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
- ↑ "Saini, Harshal help Haryana storm into quarter-finals". ESPNcricinfo. 10 December 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
- 1 2 "Vijay, Ashwin in TN squad for Karnataka clash". ESPNcricinfo. 18 December 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ↑ "Bumrah six-for propels Gujarat into final". ESPNcricinfo. 4 January 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
- 1 2 "Shaw debut hundred seals Mumbai's final berth". ESPNcricinfo. 5 January 2017. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Full list of transfers before the 2015-16 domestic season". ESPNcricinfo. 25 July 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
- 1 2 3 "2016–17 Ranji Trophy Points table". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
- ↑ "Vignesh, Natarajan fire Tamil Nadu into semi-final". ESPNcricinfo. 24 December 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
- ↑ "Samit Gohel's 359* shatters 117-year record". ESPNcricinfo. 27 December 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
- ↑ "Gujarat pull off record chase for maiden Ranji title". ESPNcricinfo. 14 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017.