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Exactly 90 years ago, on 04.11.1934, the first ever Ranji Trophy match was played at Madras between Madras and Mysore and  was completed  in a day.

Sri C Keshavamurthy, Champion Statistician on Indian Domestic Cricket, has penned a special article for the then crickick.com {now hrgcricstats.com] netizens on the first ever Ranji Trophy match between Madras and Mysore which was played on 04.11.34. This match was completed on a single day. Read on CKM’s thoughts on this historic match

Madras (now Chennai) is not new to cricket. It is learnt that cricket was played here as early as 1855 on military grounds as a sort of recreation of the soldiers. Matches were played by the Cricket Clubs as early as 1932/33 and 1933/34 for the Raja of Palayampatti Shield and Bishop Waller Shields. Even test cricket had its birth in India way back in 1933/34 and Madras had staged a test at Chepauk ground from 10th to 13th Februry 1934. As time took its toll, Madras had the distinction of becoming the first centre to boast of India’s inaugural victory in 25 tests over a span of 20 years when it beat England at the Chepauk ground on 10th February 1952. It has also the rare privilege of hosting a tied test match (only the 2nd instance in the history of test cricket) between India and Australia in September 1986.

The idea of having a Premier National championship – the Ranji Trophy (named after KS Ranjitsinhji, popularly known throughout the cricket world as the great Ranji) was mooted in the summer of 1934 when the BCCI at its meeting at Simla decided to conduct a cricket tournament on an yearly basis to keep cricket at the highest level on the lines of County matches in England and Sheffield Shield matches in Australia. And when the question of selecting the first ever venue for the National Championship came up, Madras was chosen and what better place could there have been for the inaugural match of the prestigious tournament than Madras which had earlier hosted a test match. Madras has the prevelege of hosting the first ever Duleep Trophy match too in 1961-62

On November 3, 1934 – Madras city had witnessed heavy rain and many in cricket circles thought it may well interfere the inaugural match of the tournament. Some others – perhaps those who were curious to peep in and have a look at the match presumed that rain was a good augury for the first ever match in Ranji Trophy. And so it proved to be as the historic match took place on November 4, 1934 without any hurdles.

The inaugural match itself proved to be a great hit in that it was played between the traditional rivals – Madras (now Tamilnadu) and Mysore (now Karnataka) – just as the Ashes series is played between England and Australia. Since it was the first ever match in Ranji Trophy and perhaps nobody had visualized that this tournament would be a huge success in the coming years, not much importance was given to statistics – which has acquired a major role now. Fall of wickets do not indicate the name of the outgoing batsmen. The cricketing fraternity should be thankful to Sri SK Gurunathan for recording this match in his “Twelve Years of Ranji Trophy”. Sri SK Gurunathan was the first Honorary Official Statistician of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

Despite the overnight rain and the faint morning drizzle on the opening day which resulted for a late start in the match, the two teams were keen to play and enthusiasm was writ large on the faces of the players. It was quite natural because this was the first big game to have come their way and everyone was keen to perform. When play commenced on November 4, 1934 at 11.00 am, two Englishmen, CP Johnstone (Madras) and Major MS Teversham (Mysore) captained the rival teams. Johnstone, left hand opening batsman and an excellent slip fielder, won the first toss in the championship and invited Mysore to bat. The same could not have been said of the Mysore Captain as he had not played cricket with the Mysoreans earlier. In fact, Mysore had lacked match practice.

Mysore batsmen were clueless on the wet wicket and it was no surprise that it was in deep trouble at the beginning itself when its openers N Curtis and P McCosh went in to bat. Morapakkam Joysam Gopalan – the Madras fast medium bowler and the lone test cricketer from among the two teams (he had made his debut for India against England at Calcutta in January 1934; he had also the distinction of playing Hockey at international level – he was selected in the Indian Team for Berlin Olympics) entered the record books as the first bowler to deliver the first ball in the history of the premier tournament to N Curtis who took the first strike. Although Gopalan bowled the first over (and could not capture a wicket in the first innings), the havoc was done by AG Ram Singh, the left arm spinner (his two sons AG Kripal Singh and AG Milkha Singh represented India), who partnered Gopalan at the other end. Mysore players with no exceptions had virtually no answer to the guile of Ram Singh who fully exploited the rain affected pitch. Coupled with his Captain CP Johnstone (a Burmah Shell Executive and who played for Kent in Eng), both sliced through the Mysore batting line up. Curtis top scored the innings with 15 while the only other player to reach double figures was Renshaw Nailer (he had earned a name as a powerful hitter in the Presidency matches in Madras), who made 14. Five players were dismissed for ducks. The only notable partnership of a meagre 24 runs came between Curtis and Nailer for the 4th wicket. MS Teversham – the Mysore skipper (a major in the Army) achieved the rare distinction of becoming the first Captain in the championship to be dismissed for a duck. Wreckers in chief – Ramsingh took 6/19 in 13.2 overs (the first five wicket haul in the national championship) and Johnstone bowling off-cutters, had figures of 4/10 in 6 overs. Mysore players whose batting performance gave a feeling as though they were afraid of the devil in the pitch, eventually were responsible for their team to be dismissed for a paltry 48 – the first double digit score in the history of the national championship. SVT Chari kept wickets brilliantly for Madras and effected 4 stumpings, while C Ramaswamy held 5 catches in the match.

Madras, although rejoiced at keeping the opposition at bay, too did not fare better but the home team batsmen were not as timid as those of the opposition and could muster 130 in 43 overs, for a lead of 82 runs – a shade better than the performance of the visitors. The restricted total of Madras was mainly due to the devastating spell of 6/23 in 8 overs by MG Vijayasarathy who bowled medium off breaks. (he later rose to the level of an international umpire and who was also the first player treasurer of the Mysore State Cricket Association (now KSCA). he also served as its Vice President and President.) and excellent bowling (3/29) by Safi Darashah (who later took to broadcasting as a commentator). Cotah Ramaswami (who also represented India in the Davis Cup in 1922), top scoed with 26 for Madras. NN Swarna (22) and MJ Gopalan (23) were the other leading scorers for Madras. Many felt that if Vijayasarathy had opened the bowling with Nagaraja Rao, the home team could have been dismissed for a lesser score as Vijayasarathy coming as a third change bowler caused the lower order collapse – all the dismissals, being in a row. .

When Mysore switched to batting for a second time, everyone thought it would put up a decent performance. However, this was not to be as once again wickets fell at regular intervals. Mysore batsmen refused to learn from the first innings debacle and paid a heavy price for the inept batting performance for the second time in the match. Ram Singh was in his elements again demolishing the Mysore innings with his tantalizing spinners and accounting for another five wicket haul (5/16in 14.3 overs). With this he scripted his name into the record books as the first player to take 10 or more wickets in a match. Gopalan with 3/20 and Johnstone with 2/10 ably assisted him. T Murari (one of the founders of the MSCA) and Teversham with 11 runs each were the joint top scorers as batsmen for the visitors. Darashah was the only other player to reach the double figure (10). The irony was that Mr Extras top scored for the innings with 13. Mysore, in the end, folded up for a niggardly 59. BR Nagaraja Rao – a fast bowler of repute, also went into the record books as the first player to be dismissed for a ‘pair’ (duck in each innings).

Madras thus emerged victors by an innings and 23 runs. The inaugural match was over in a single day – a record that still stands today as till date no other match in the national championship has been completed in a single day. The whole match lasted for a total of 100.5 overs. Bowlers had a sway in the entire match and this match is still known as Ram Singh’s match for his magnificent bowling performance of 11/35 (6/19 and 5/16).

This match is also known for a humorous anecdote if you can call it like that. It is learnt that some of the supporters of the Mysore team who were excited to get a first-hand knowledge of the inaugural day’s play, had gone to the Railway Station on the morning of the next day to purchase the newspaper (in those days it is learnt that Bangalore did not have any reputed newspaper and the newspapers used to come from Madras by train) but were taken aback when they saw the team members alighting from the train, remarking that they would narrate the match event in detail instead of the newspaper.

And what about those press people who covered this unforgettable match. The stalwarts N.S.Ramaswami, KN Prabhu and PN Sunderesan also find themselves in the record books as the famous trio of cricket writers to have witnessed and reported this historic match. The trio is no more as they have breathed their last.

PS: In case any readers/viewers to the site are having any other connected information or anecdotes relating to the above match, they are requested to post the comments on my email hrgopal@gmail.com or on my whatsapp 9341073993 so that an improved version of the article could be prepared. Views are most welcome.

The score card of the first Ranji Trophy match is reproduced below

Ranji Trophy, 1934/35 : Madras v Mysore : MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai : 4 November 1934 (3-day match) : Result: Madras won by an innings and 23 runs : Toss: Madras : Captains : MS Teversham {Mysore} : CP Johnstone {Madras}

Mysore : First Innings

N Curtis	c Ramaswami	b Johnstone	15
P McCosh	st Chari	b Ram Singh	07
KS Ramamurthi	st Chari	b Ram Singh	00
T Murari	lbw	b Ram Singh	00
R Nailer	c Swarna	b Ram Singh	14
MG Vijayasarathi		b Johnstone	01
S Darashah	st Chari	b Ram Singh	00
CG Buttenshaw	c Ramaswami	b Ram Singh	03
*+MS Teversham	c Ramaswami	b Johnstone	00
BR Nagaraja Rao	c Ramaswami	b Johnstone	00
YS Ramaswami	not out		00
Extras			08
Total	(all out, 27.2 overs)		48

FoW: 1-12, 2-12, 3-14, 4-38, 5-41, 6-41, 7-41, 8-44, 9-46, 10-48.

Madras : Bowling 1st innings

Bowling	O	M	R	W
Gopalan	8	2	11	0
Ram Singh	13.2	7	19	6
Johnstone	6	3	10	4

Madras 1st innings

AV Krishnaswami		b Nagaraja Rao	09
*CP Johnstone	lbw	b Darashah	06
AG Ram Singh	c McCosh	b Darashah	14
NN Swarna	b Darashah		22
C Ramaswami	c Curtis	b Vijayasarathi	26
MA Uttappa	c Teversham	b Vijayasarathi	16
AL Shaw	lbw	b Vijayasarathi	03
MJ Gopalan	c Curtis	b Vijayasarathi	23
PV Ramanathan	b Vijayasarathi		00
+SVT Chari	c Darashah	b Vijayasarathi	04
PS Ramachandran	not out		00
Extras			07
Total	(all out, 43 overs)		130

FoW: 1-9, 2-23, 3-55, 4-62, 5-96, 6-97, 7-107, 8-107, 9-126, 10-130.

Mysore : Bowling 1st innings

Bowling	O	M	R	W
Buttenshaw	4	1	13	0
Nagaraja Rao	10	3	22	1
Darashah	11	2	29	3
Ramaswami	10	1	36	0
Vijayasarathi	8	3	23	6

Mysore 2nd innings

N Curtis	c Ramaswami	b Gopalan	02
P McCosh		b Ram Singh	00
KS Ramamurthi		b Johnstone	06
T Murari	c Shaw	b Gopalan	11
R Nailer		b Gopalan	00
MG Vijayasarathi		b Ram Singh	05
S Darashah	st Chari	b Ram Singh	10
CG Buttenshaw		c & b Johnstone	01
BR Nagaraja Rao	lbw	b Ram Singh	00
*+MS Teversham		b Ram Singh	11
YS Ramaswami	not out		00
Extras			13
Total	(all out, 30.3 overs)		59

FoW: 1-2, 2-4, 3-16, 4-16, 5-27, 6-29, 7-30, 8-42, 9-42, 10-59.

Madras : Bowling 2nd innings

Bowling	O	M	R	W
Gopalan	12	4	20	3
Ram Singh	14.3	4	16	5
Johnstone	4	1	10	2

This article was first published in crickick.com on 04.11.2017

The following statistical tables show the important key parameters of Ranji Trophy during the last 89 years

Most career runs
No	Score	Player	Teams	Career span
1	12038	Wasim Jaffer	Mumbai, Vidharba	1996/97 – 2019/20
2	9205	Amol Muzumdar	Mumbai, Assam, Andhra	1993/94 – 2013/14
3	9201	Devendra Bundela	Madhya Pradesh	1995/96 – 2017/18
4	9143	Paras Dogra	Himachal Pradesh, Pondicherry	2001/02 – 2023/24
5	8700	Yashpal Singh	Services, Tripura,Sikkim, Manipur	2001/02 – 2019/20
6	8635	Manoj Tiwary	Bengal	2000/01 – 2023/24
7	8554	Mithun Manhas	Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir	1997/98 – 2016/17
8	8430	Faiz Fazal	Vidarbha, Railways	2003/04 – 2023/24
9	8059	Hrishikesh Kanitkar	Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan	1994/95 – 2013/14
10	7861	Naman Ojha	Madhya Pradesh	2000/01 – 2019/20

Highest individual scores-350 plus runs
No	Score	Player	For	Against	Year
1	443*	B. B. Nimbalkar	Maharashtra	Kathiawar	1948/49
2	379	Prithvi Shaw	Mumbai	Assam	2022/23
3	377	Sanjay Manjrekar	Bombay	Hyderabad	1990/91
4	366	M. V. Sridhar	Hyderabad	Andhra	1993/94
5	366	Tanmay Agarwal	Hyderabad	Arunachal	2023/24
6	359*	Vijay Merchant	Bombay	Maharashtra	1943/44
7	359*	Samit Gohel	Gujarat	Odisha	2016/17
8	353	V. V. S. Laxman	Hyderabad	Karnataka	1999/00
9	352	Cheteshwar Pujara	Saurashtra	Karnataka	2012/13
10	351*	Swapnil Gugale	Maharashtra	Delhi	2016/17

Most career centuries – 25 or more
No	100s	Player	Teams	Career span
1	40	Wasim Jaffer	Mumbai, Vidarbha	1996/97 – 2019/20
2	31	Ajay Sharma	Delhi, Himachal Pradesh	1984/85 – 2000/01
3	30	Paras Dogra	Himachal Pradesh, Pondicherry	2001/02 – 2022/23
4	28	Hrishikesh Kanitkar	Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan	1994/95 – 2013/14
5	28	Amol Muzumdar	Bombay/Mumbai, Assam, Andhra	1993/94 – 2013/14
6	27	Amarjit Kaypee	Punjab, Haryana	1980/81 – 1999/00
7	26	Brijesh Patel	Mysore/Karnataka	1969/70 – 1987/88
8	26	Surendra Bhave	Maharashtra	1986/87 – 2000/01
9	25	Mithun Manhas	Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir	1997/98 – 2016/17

Most runs in a season – 1000 plus runs
No	Score	Player	Team	Season
1	1415	V. V. S. Laxman	Hyderabad	1999/00
2	1340	Rahul Dalal	Arunachal Pradesh	2019/20
3	1331	Milind Kumar	Sikkim	2018/19
4	1330	Shreyas Iyer	Mumbai	2015/16
5	1310	Priyank Panchal	Gujarat	2016/17
6	1280	Vijay Bharadwaj	Karnataka	1998/99
7	1260	Wasim Jaffer	Mumbai	2008/09
8	1223	Kedar Jadhav	Maharashtra	2013/14
9	1160	Mayank Agarwal	Karnataka	2017/18
10	1089	Ajinkya Rahane	Mumbai	2008/09

Bowling records – Most career wickets
No	Wkts	Player	Teams	Career span
1	639	Rajinder Goel	Patiala, Southern Punjab, Delhi, Haryana	1958/59 – 1984/85
2	531	S Venkataraghavan	Madras/Tamil Nadu	1963/64 – 1984/85
3	479	Sunil Joshi	Karnataka	1992/93 – 2010/11
4	442	Vinay Kumar	Karnataka, Pondicherry	2004/05 – 2019/20
5	441	Narendra Hirwani	Madhya Pradesh, Bengal	1984/85 – 2005/06
6	437	Bhagwat Chandrasekhar	Mysore/Karnataka	1963/64 – 1979/80

Best bowling figures in an innings
No	Score	Player	Team	Opponent	Season
1	10/20	Premangsu Chatterjee	Bengal	Assam	1956/57
2	10/78	Pradeep Sunderam	Rajasthan	Vidarbha	1985/86
3	09/23	Ankeet Chavan	Mumbai	Punjab	2012/13
4	09/25	Hyder Ali	Railways	Jammu and Kashmir	1969/70
5	09/29	Faisal Shaikh	Goa	Services	2002/03

Most wickets in a season
No	Wkts	Player	Team	Season
1	68	Ashutosh Aman	Bihar	2018/19
2	67	Jaydev Unadkat	Saurashtra	2019/20
3	64	Bishan Singh Bedi	Delhi	1974/75
4	62	Dodda Ganesh	Karnataka	1998/99
5	62	Kanwaljit Singh	Hyderabad	1999/00

Team records-Highest innings totals
No	Score	Team	Opponent	Season
1	944/6d	Hyderabad	Andhra	1993/94
2	912/6d	Tamil Nadu	Goa	1988/89
3	912/8d	Madhya Pradesh	Karnataka	1945/46
4	880/10	Jharkhand	Nagaland	2021/22
5	855/6d	Mumbai	Hyderabad	1990/91
6	826/04	Maharashtra	Saurashtra	1948/49
7	826/7d	Meghalaya	Sikkim	2018/19

Lowest innings totals
No	Score	Team	Opponent	Season
1	21	Hyderabad	Rajasthan	2010/11
2	22	Southern Punjab	Northern India	1934/35
3	23	Sind	Southern Punjab	1938/39
4	23	Jammu and Kashmir	Delhi	1960/61
5	23	Jammu and Kashmir	Haryana	1977/78

Highest partnerships per wicket
Wkt	Runs	Players	Team	Opponent	Season
1st	464	Ravi Sehgal-Raman Lamba	Delhi	Himachal Pradesh	1994/95
2nd	475	Zahir Alam-Lalchand Rajput	Assam	Tripura	1991/92
3rd	594*	Swapnil Gugale-Ankit Bawne	Maharashtra	Delhi	2016/17
4th	577	Vijay Hazare-Gul Mohammad	Baroda	Holkar	1946/47
5th	520*	Cheteshwar Pujara-Ravindra Jadeja	Saurashtra	Orissa	2008/09
6th	417	Wriddhiman Saha-Laxmi Ratan Shukla	Bengal	Assam	2010/11
7th	460	Bhupinder Singh Jr.-Pankaj Dharmani	Punjab	Delhi	1994/95
8th	392	Amit Mishra-Jayant Yadav	Haryana	Karnataka	2012/13
9th	249*	Ankit Srivastava-Kapil Seth	Madhya Pradesh	Vidarbha	2000/01
10th	233	Ajay Sharma-Maninder Singh	Delhi	Bombay	1991/92