The 2019–20 Ranji Trophy was the 86th season of the Ranji Trophy, the premier first-class cricket tournament in India.[1] It took place between December 2019 and March 2020.[2][3]Chandigarh competed in the Ranji Trophy for the first time.[4]Vidarbha were the defending champions.[5][6]
In the opening round of fixtures, Vidarbha's Wasim Jaffer became the first cricketer to play in 150 matches in the Ranji Trophy.[7][8] In January 2020, in the round seven match between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh's Ravi Yadav became the first bowler to take a hat-trick in his first over on his debut in a first-class cricket match.[9] On 12 February 2020, the Plate Group fixture between Chandigarh and Manipur was the 60,000th first-class cricket match to be played.[10][11]
Ahead of the final round of group stage matches, Gujarat, Saurashtra and Andhra had qualified for the quarter-finals, with fourteen teams in contention for the remaining five places.[12]Goa qualified from the Plate Group, after beating Mizoram inside two days.[13] Following the final group stage games, Bengal from Group A,[14]Karnataka from Group B,[15]Jammu & Kashmir from Group C,[16] and Odisha, also from Group C, had all qualified for the quarter-finals.[17] Bengal, Gujarat, Karnataka and Saurashtra all progressed from the quarter-finals to the semi-finals of the tournament.[18]
Bengal reached the final for the first time since the 2006–07 tournament, after beating Karnataka by 174 runs.[19] Saurashtra beat Gujarat by 92 runs to advance to the final for the fourth time in the last eight seasons.[20] The final finished in a draw, with Saurashtra winning their maiden title, with a lead in the first innings of the match.[21][22]
Format
The tournament retained the same format as the previous edition of the competition.[23] The tournament had four groups, with nine teams each in Groups A, B, and ten teams in Group C and the Plate Group. The top two teams from Group C and the top team in the Plate Group progressed to the quarter-finals of the tournament, along with the top five teams across Groups A and B.[24] A neutral curator was appointed to select the wicket for each fixture.[25]
The following player transfers were approved ahead of the season. The new team, Chandigarh, transferred few players from Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.[28]
The teams were placed in the following groups, based on their performance from the previous edition. Chandigarh competed in the tournament for the first time.[42][43]
