Thu Jan 23 11:00:03 UTC 2025: ## Ranji Trophy Roundup: Sharma’s Struggle, Dominant Wins, and Close Finishes
**[City, State] –** Day one of the Ranji Trophy saw a mixed bag of results, with some teams establishing commanding leads while others faced uphill battles. Gujarat holds a slender 7-run advantage, while Karnataka enjoys a more substantial 55-run lead. Conversely, Odisha trails by 128 runs and Saurashtra by 125. Hyderabad and Chhattisgarh chose to bat first, while Services and Chandigarh opted to field.
In other news, India’s women’s team cruised to a 7-wicket victory with 43 balls to spare, while APF Women secured a dominant 10-wicket win with 67 balls remaining. One women’s match saw a nail-biting finish, with Sudur P Women needing a mere 18 runs off 4 balls to claim victory. Another women’s match left the ENG women needing 117 runs from 68 balls.
Meanwhile, the much-anticipated return of Rohit Sharma to the Ranji Trophy for Mumbai proved underwhelming. He failed to regain his form, leaving his first-class average at a modest 10.43 across 16 innings this season. Despite this, teammate Ajinkya Rahane expressed confidence in Sharma’s ability to “get a big one” in future matches. The second leg of the Ranji Trophy is expected to feature more prominent Test players, adding further excitement to the tournament. Sharma himself commented on the demands of mandatory domestic cricket, stating that the schedule leaves players with “hardly any time”.
First Piper 