The ace wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, who returned for his home team after missing the previous season, is the centre of interest in the present Ranji Trophy 2025–26 Round 1 match between Maharashtra and Kerala at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. Samson did not let anyone down, hitting at No. 4 and hammering a half-century in the first innings.
Following a valiant performance by Ruturaj Gaikwad for his 91 runs and Jalaj Saxena for his 49, Maharashtra struck first and amassed 239 in the first innings of the match. Thanks to MD Nidheesh’s outstanding opening performance, the pair put up a 122-run partnership on the first day to save their team from serious peril when they were only 18 runs down.
Kerala started with Rohan Kunnummal and Akshay Chandran, but the opening duo did not survive long as the former left for a 21-ball duck. Baba Aparajith, a veteran hitter, too had to walk the lengthy distance to make room for Sanju Samson after four overs. The player from Trivandrum didn’t take long to get going, contributing a rapid 54 from 63 balls. He hit a six and five fours in his knock.
Tilak Varma does not take the lead.
Tilak Varma, the captain of Hyderabad, was unable to maintain his performance from the Asia Cup 2025 in the team’s inaugural match against Delhi. After his blitzkrieg against Pakistan in the Asia Cup final in Dubai, Tilak Varma had become a household name for those who were unaware. However, after being duped by his opponent, Ayush Badoni, the youthful player left for a silver duck when it came to playing in the red-ball format.
Karun Nair receives fifty on the return of Karnataka.
As the visitors batted first in Rajkot against Jaydev Unadkat’s Saurashtra, key batsman Karun Nair made his comeback to the Karnataka team after a three-year hiatus and dazzled everyone with a strong 73-run innings. Even though he batted beautifully for his 96, Devdutt Padikkal felt short when Dharmendrasinh Jadeja smashed the stumps with accuracy.
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