2022–23 Ranji Trophy Explained

2022–23 Ranji Trophy
Fromdate:	13 December 2022
Todate:	20 February 2023
Administrator:	BCCI
Cricket Format:	First-class cricket
Tournament Format:	Round-robin then knockout
Host:	India
Champions:	Saurashtra
Count:	2
Runner Up:	Bengal
Participants:	38
Matches:	138
Player Of The Series:	Arpit Vasavada (Saurashtra)
Most Runs:	Mayank Agarwal (Karnataka) (990)
Most Wickets:	Jalaj Saxena (Kerala) (50)
Previous Year:	2021–22
Previous Tournament:	2021–22 Ranji Trophy
Next Year:	2023–24
Next Tournament:	2023–24 Ranji Trophy

The 2022–23 Ranji Trophy was the 88th season of the Ranji Trophy, the premier first-class cricket tournament in India.^[1] It was played from 13 December 2022 and was finished on 19 February 2023.^[2] Madhya Pradesh were the defending champions, winning their first Ranji Trophy title previous season.^{[3] [4] [5]}

During this season, Sikkim hosted Ranji Trophy matches for the first time.^[6] Narayanan Janani, Vrinda Rathi and Gayathri Venugopalan became the first female umpires to officiate in the Ranji Trophy.^[7]

In the final, Saurashtra defeated Bengal by 9 wickets to win their second title.^[8]

Format

Unlike the last season, where all teams competed for the same trophy, this season BCCI enforced the Promotion and relegation format. This Ranji trophy had two winners to improve the standard and competitiveness of the tournament. The teams were divided into two categories named as Elite category having 32 teams split into four groups, with Plate category having 6 teams.^[9] The Elite group teams played each other once, with the top two teams from each group qualified for the quarter-finals. In the Plate Group also teams played each other once, but the top four teams qualified for the plate group knockouts, with the bottom two teams playing for the fifth and sixth positions, and another playoff for the third and fourth positions took place.^[10] The two Plate finalists will be promoted to the Elite group for the next season, 2023–24, while the bottom two teams of all the four Elite groups combined - factoring in both points and the quotient will be relegated to Plate group.^[10]

The teams were placed in the following groups:^[11]

League stage

Group A

See main article: 2022–23 Ranji Trophy Group A.

Group B

See main article: 2022–23 Ranji Trophy Group B.

Group C

See main article: 2022–23 Ranji Trophy Group C.

Group D

See main article: 2022–23 Ranji Trophy Group D.

Plate Group

See main article: 2022–23 Ranji Trophy Plate Group.

Plate Knockouts

----

Plate Semi-finals

----

Plate Final

Knockout stage

Quarter-finals

------------

Semi-finals

----

Final

Statistics

• On 2 January, Saurashtra bowler Jaydev Unadkat became the first player to take a hat-trick in the first over of a Ranji Trophy match.^[12]
• On 12 January, Mumbai batter Prithvi Shaw made second highest score in an inning in Ranji history by a batter. He scored 379 runs.^[13]
• On 19 January, Vidarbha defended a target of 73 runs against Gujarat, which is the lowest target defended in the Ranji Trophy.^[14]

External links

• Series home at ESPNcricinfo

Notes and References

1. Web site: 8 August 2022 . BCCI announces India’s domestic season for 2022-23 . Board of Control for Cricket in India.
2. Web site: 13 December 2022 . Two Ranji Trophy winners, inaugural Under-16 tournament for girls in the BCCI's new domestic schedule . ESPNcricinfo.
3. Madhya Pradesh previously competed in the Ranji Trophy as Holkar cricket team, winning the tournament four times between 1945–46 and 1952–53. This was their first win as Madhya Pradesh.
4. Web site: Dubey, Shubham, Patidar, bowlers fashion Madhya Pradesh's maiden Ranji Trophy title . ESPNcricinfo . 26 June 2022.
5. Web site: Mumbai vs Madhya Pradesh highlights, Ranji Trophy Final 2022: Madhya Pradesh beat Mumbai by 6 wickets to win their maiden Ranji Trophy title . The Times of India . 26 June 2022.
6. Web site: Sikkim win first Ranji Trophy match on home turf . 2023-01-20 . www.telegraphindia.com.
7. Web site: Women umpires Rathi, Janani and Gayathri make history in Ranji Trophy . 8 February 2023 . ESPNcricinfo.
8. News: Sportstar . Team . Bengal vs Saurashtra HIGHLIGHTS Ranji Trophy Final Day 4: SAU beats BEN by 9 wickets to lift title, Unadkat shines . 19 February 2023 . . 19 February 2023 . en.
9. Web site: Two Ranji Trophy winners, inaugural Under-16 tournament for girls in BCCI's new domestic schedule . ESPNcricinfo . 13 December 2022.
10. Web site: FAQs: Everything you need to know about the Ranji Trophy 2022-23 season . ESPNcricinfo . 13 December 2022.
11. Web site: Ranji Trophy 2022-23: Matches, schedule, squads and all you need to know. The Indian Express . 13 December 2022.
12. Web site: Jaydev Unadkat rocks Delhi with first-over hat-trick . 2023-01-20 . ESPNcricinfo.
13. Web site: 12 January 2023 . '...Jay Shah sir': Prithvi Shaw's reply to BCCI secretary after smashing multiple records with towering 379 in Ranji match . Hindustan Times .
14. Web site: Sportstar . Team . 2023-01-19 . Vidarbha defends lowest total in Ranji Trophy, bowls Gujarat out for 54 . 2023-01-20 . sportstar.thehindu.com . en.