The fifth round of the Ranji Trophy 2025/26 kicked off today (November 16).
The fifth round of the Ranji Trophy kicked off this morning (November 16), and the scoreboards were ticking at each venue. Right from the Punjab vs Maharashtra and Karnataka vs Chandigarh fixtures, there were some exemplary performances which set the stage on fire on the first day itself. Arshin Kulkarni, Prithvi Shaw, Karun Nair starred for their sides.
With the number of games at the international level growing multiple folds, the importance of domestic series like the Ranji Trophy goes up too. With the game being more demanding, the need for a good infrastructure and back-up for each player is also expected to rise.
Having said that, here are some of the highlights of the terrific performances that were on display on Day 1 of the fifth round of the Ranji Trophy 2025/26.
The Indian U19 World Cup winning skipper made a shift to play for Maharashtra after going through a rough patch in his career. Needless to say, Prithvi Shaw was one of the most discussed young talents in the country, after scoring a magnificent ton on international debut in a Test match against the West Indies.
That being said, the youngster is slowly coming back into the groove. In four Ranji Trophy matches this season, he has accumulated 396 runs at an average of a healthy 66. The Maharashtra opener scored a brilliant 74 against Punjab on the first day of the fifth Ranji Trophy round. The opening stand between Shaw and Arshin Kulkarni lasted a 144 runs, which helped the visitors get off to a good start.
To add to that, Shaw completed 5,000 First-class runs in 109 innings en route to his composed 74 against Punjab in the first innings.
Prithvi Shaw was never short of talent. But his performances also played a huge role in his non-selection for any IPL franchise in 2025. However, the youngster might spark a debate once again in the auction, considering his attacking mode of batting at the top of the order.
Hours after being retained by his franchise, Karun Nair was denied a prolific ton against Chandigarh in the Ranji Trophy 2025/26. The batter from Karnataka came out at a tricky time, when the team was struggling at 13/2 in eight overs, with the ball doing all sorts of tricks.
The 33-year-old did very well to see that phase off, and scored a steady 95 runs, only to be trapped in front of the wickets to a delivery from Taranpreet Singh. His innings comprised of 12 boundaries and a solitary six, and was an example of a great innings under pressure.
With the Indians side in search of their No.3 in Test cricket, Karun Nair can keep banging on the doors of the selectors with performances like these. The hosts tried Washington Sundar at No.3 against South Africa which proves that they haven’t zeroed in on any player for the role yet.
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Getting to one’s maiden First-class ton at 20 years of age would be a prolific achievement. Well, for Arshin Kulkarni, that dream has turned into a reality. Opening the batting alongside Prithvi Shaw who was dismissed for 74, Arshin stood tall and carried on to bring his maiden First-class ton.
Arshin’s technique is very similar to that of Shaw as both the batters love to take the attack to the opposition. However, this innings was a lot more composed and vigilant as Arshin Kulkarni kept his nerve to play each ball according to its merit.
After Pondicherry won the toss and elected to field, the Mumbai batters thumped their authority at home to score huge amount of runs. One amongst them was youngster Musheer Khan, who is on a prolific run in domestic cricket. Musheer was also a part of India’s U19 campaign.
Opening the batting alongside Ayush Mhatre, the right-handed youngster scored a composed 84 from 102 deliveries in a knock which comprised 11 boundaries. Along with Musheer, Akhil Herwadkar and Siddhesh Lad were also amongst the runs as Mumbai dominated proceedings on Day 1.
Services posted 205 in the first innings. It was all fine till then. But then Amit Shukla happened! Bowling six overs for one run and also picking a five-wicket haul, Shukla ran through the top-order of Haryana to reduce them to 20/5 at the end of the first day.
To add to that, his spell of six overs in the closing moments of the day saw five maidens, and also came at an economy of 0.17, which speaks volumes of his control.
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