The Ranji Trophy for 2021 began today with as many as 38 teams participating in the event. The Board of Control for Cricket in India was forced to cancel the tournament last year owing to restrictions imposed by Covid-19. However, the board has this time decided to host the league in two phases, pre-IPL and post IPL. The pre-IPL phase consists of league matches and one pre-quarter-final. It will conclude on March 15 while the board is yet to make a decision on the schedule of the post IPL phase.
U-19 World Cup captain Yash Dhull on Thursday recorded a century in his maiden first-class game on day one of the 2021/22 Ranji Trophy. Opening the match for Delhi, Dhull batted after Tamil Nadu skipper Vijay Shankar elected to bowl first.
A cut through point off off-spinner Baba Aparajith took him to his maiden century in first-class cricket with his Delhi teammates and support staff giving a huge round of applause. Dhull continued to score until he was LBW by Mohammed for 113. Dhull in his century amassed 48 runs from the off-side and 65 through on the side.
Day 1 also saw a comeback for ace player S Sreesanth. Kerala pacer picked two wickets for Kerala against Meghalaya in their first match of the tournament. The right-arm pacer removed Aryan Bora and Chengkam Sangma in his last spell of the innings. The 39-year-old bowled 11.4 overs giving just 40 runs. Sreesanth was making his comeback in Ranji Trophy after a gap of nine years