Here Are 5 Things You Don't Know About The Ranji Trophy

While most facts about the Ranji Trophy are fairly well-known, there are a few that may have escaped your attention.

1. The Cricket Championship of India

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The Ranji Trophy is thought to have originated in the 1930s, following a meeting of India's Board of Control for Cricket in July 1934. The Cricket Championship in India was the name of India's first significant premier first-class level domestic competition.

Granted, this was the first competition of its kind in the country, but there was a tournament called Bombay Quadrangular that ran from 1912 until 1936, after which it was renamed Pentangular with the addition of an extra team.

The BCCI cancelled this yearly event, which had teams split by religion - Europeans, Parsees, Hindus, and Muslims - in 1946 and replaced it with a zonal tournament.

2. Maharaja Ranjitsinhji's truth

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If one were to trace the origins of Indian cricket to a single point in history, one man's name would stand out among a few others. Despite being widely regarded as India's first cricketer, Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji is not known to have played for the country.

In fact, his fascination with the British way of life led him to decline the captaincy of an all-Indian squad that visited England in 1911. Ranjitsinhji went to England during his formative years and remained a devoted Sussex and England cricketer throughout.

Although he quickly ascended the ranks with excellent batting and equally admirable fielding, he was kept at bay by prejudice and hidden racism.

His county records speak for themselves, with 72 centuries and 109 fifties. It was only fair that a trophy be named after a man of such brilliance after his death.

3. The first champions

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The first match between Madras and Mysore was played in Chepauk on November 4, 1934. M.J. Gopalan of Madras bowled the first ball, which was caught by N. Curtis.

Only three of the thirteen matches played in the first season resulted in a result. The regulations stated that if a match was drawn, the outcome would be determined purely by the performances of the two sides in the first innings.

This one-of-a-kind rule of first innings lead is still in effect today but in a more unbiased version.

4. The double

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In the 1993-94 season, Hyderabad established themselves as a force to be reckoned with when they defeated Andhra Pradesh in a South Zone encounter at Secunderabad.

Hyderabad registered a huge 944/6 after sweeping out the opponents for 263 thanks to Narender Singh's five-for, with two players scoring double tons and Maturi Sridhar amassing 366 - the third-highest individual score in an innings in the Ranji trophy.

Almost 17 years later, Hyderabad was dismissed for all but 21 runs against Rajasthan, the lowest-ever team total in tournament history.

Surprisingly, it was an 18-year-old debutant named Deepak Chahar who, on a November day in 2010, marked the end for Ravi Teja's squad with an 8/10 in 7.3 overs.

5. The only tie in history

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The Ranji Trophy semi-final of 1945-46 is noted for several reasons, the most notable of which is that it was the first and only tied match in the championship's 80-year history.

Baroda faced Southern Punjab in a four-day encounter at Patiala's Baradari Ground. Southern Punjab surrendered meekly to the tandem of Vijay Hazare and Amir Elahi in the first innings before a resilient Lala Amarnath steadied the ship with a battling 91.

Aftab Ahmed then stormed down the Baroda batting order, taking 6 wickets for 37 runs and giving his team a 61-run lead.

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