The 2015-16 season of the Ranji Trophy witnessed tough competition as teams fought tooth and nail until the last day for a place in the knock-outs. Defending champions Karnataka, who lifted the trophy in 2013-14 and 2014-15 editions, were knocked-out of the tournament by Maharashtra in the last round of the league phase. Group A witnessed musical chairs as teams regrouped and put up solid performances to keep themselves in the fray throughout the phase. Gautam Gambhir-led Delhi eventually lost the top spot to Vidarbha who had been at No 5 at the end of the penultimate round. Bengal and Assam were the other two teams to make it to the next phase. In Group B, while Mumbai stayed at No 1 position, Gujarat narrowly lost the third place to Madhya Pradesh. Harbhajan Singh-led Punjab booked the second spot. Saurashtra finished at pole position in Group C while Jharkhand climbed to No 2 to claim a berth in the quarter-finals.

Group A:

The top three positions were open till the last round of the league phase. Delhi, who had enjoyed the top-spot for most of the season and had finished their league phase at No 1, were knocked out of the tournament by Vidarbha, who won their last match with a bonus point to displace them. The S Badrinath-led team, who were at No 5 at the beginning of the last round, batted Haryana out of the match in Nagpur. Ravi Jangid’s all-round performance (a century and 11 wickets) in the last game ensured the team a place in the quarter-finals. Off-spinner Akshay Wakhare, who finished as the joint highest wicket-taker of the season, with Monish Kareparambil, with 49 wickets each was integral to the team’s success throughout the season. Bengal replaced Assam at No 2 after gaining crucial points on the basis of first innings lead as they battled against each other in the last match of the phase. The Manoj Tiwary-led team conceded the first innings lead to defending champions Karnataka in their opening game but kept themselves in the fray with first innings leads in the next two games. They beat Odisha in the penultimate game and propelled by Shreevats Goswami’s century, posted a mammoth total against Assam in the last game. Ashoke Dinda ensured the team three points by bowling the opposition out for a paltry total and enforcing a follow-on. The captain was the leading run-scorer for the team with 522 runs and Pragyan Ojha with 33 wickets was the highest wicket-taker for the side while Dinda claimed 31 wickets. Assam, who began the season in Group A after finishing at the top of Group C in 2014-15, entered the quarter-finals for a second season in a row with three wins under their belt. While KB Arun Karthick was the vital cog in their batting lineup and finished the phase with 723 runs, pacer Krishna Das was the leading wicket-taker with 44 wickets for the team.

Haryana, who failed to win even a single game, will be relegated to Group C for the next season.

Group B:

Mumbai, who had claimed the top spot in the points table for the better part of the season, finished the league phase as table-toppers. After conceding the first innings lead to Andhra in their opening match of the season, the Aditya Tare-led team won their next to matches at home. While they beat Punjab comfortably they pulled off a thrilling win against Tamil Nadu after conceding the first innings lead. They chased 236 on the last day of the match to post a one-wicket win and there was no looking back for the young team from there on. After getting his maiden first-class double-century against Punjab, Shreyas Iyer, who was also the leading run-getter for Mumbai was their mainstay. The stylish stoke player finished as the highest run-getter of the league phase with 930 runs at an average of 71.53 at a strike rate of 95.48. Besides him, Akhil Herwadkar (741), the quiet opening batsman played a vital role in anchoring the lineup and pulled the team through tough situations. Surya Kumar Yadav and Siddhesh Lad too played solid knocks in the middle-order. Towards the end of the phase, Jay Bista and the captain himself played important innings to keep the team on top. While Shardul Thakur (29 wickets) was consistent and finished as the highest wicket-taker for the team, the spinners too played their part in Mumbai’s success. Mumbai were the only team other than Bengal, to not lose a single game in eight matches. With four wins under the belt, they finished with 35 points, nine points ahead of No 2.

Punjab, who claimed the No 2 spot got off the mark with a comprehensive win against Railways, but lost their next match to Mumbai. They stayed in the reckoning with wins at crucial times. They only conceded the first innings lead to Madhya Pradesh and it was their first inning lead against Uttar Pradesh that helped them stay afloat in the competition. The Harbhajan Singh-led team beat Tamil Nadu in their last league game with the captain taking ten wickets to seal the team a spot in the quarter-finals. While Uday Kaul was the leading run-getter for the team with 611 runs, he was ably supported by Gitansh Khera, Mandeep Singh and Jiwanjot Singh. Sarajeet Ladda, was the highest wicket-taker for the team and finished with 25 wickets from five matches. The No 3 spot was open till the last day of the last round as Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh fought to claim it. MP, who beat Andhra in their last match to claim a win with a bonus point and leveled on points with Gujarat, nudged the Parthiv Patel-led team out of the competition on the basis of Net Run Rate. After conceding the first innings lead to Mumbai, it was an uphill task for Gujarat as they toiled to keep up with the NRR and were batted out of the tournament by the opposition. Jalaj Saxena stood out with the bat and the ball for the Devendra Bundela-led team as they made a bid for a spot on the QFs. The top-order bat finished as the leading run-getter for MP with 530 runs and was also the leading wicket-taker for the team with 46 wickets.

Andhra, who finished at the bottom of the table and were winless throughout the phase will be relegated to Group C for the next season. Group C: Saurashtra, who were relegated to Group C for the 2015-16 season, dominated the group throughout the season. Four of their five wins came at the start of the league phase, which helped them consolidate their position. Ravindra Jadeja, who played in the first four matches, spun the team to victory in three of them. The Jaydev Shah-led side were the only team from all three groups to win five matches in the league phase. Himachal Pradesh who had made a strong case for themselves and occupied the No 2 spot for a good part of the season were replaced by Jharkhand who won three back to back games towards the business end to seize the second position, and a berth in the knock outs. The Shahbaz Nadeem-led team won the last match of the league phase with a bonus point and finished with one point more than Himachal to seal a place in the final eight. Kerala too had kept themselves in the race for the knock-outs. The Sanju Samson-led team were at the No 2 spot ahead of the last round of the league phase. Kareparambil, who was the key to the team’s fortunes finished at the top of the bowling list on a better strike rate than Wakhare.