The continuous identification of talent at the national level helped Indian cricket reach an unprecedented height in 2023.
In the world of domestic cricket, 2023 stands out as a historic and momentous year, with everything from Haryana winning their first Vijay Hazare Trophy to Railway women continuing to rule the Senior One Day Trophy. These are a handful of the memorable matches that highlighted the richness and diversity of Indian cricket.
At the JSCA complex in Ranchi on February 7, 2023, Railways put another feather to their crown as they defeated Karnataka by four wickets to win the Women’s Senior One Day Trophy for a record 14th time. Under Jaydev Unadkat, Saurashtra won their second Ranji Trophy title in the previous three seasons during that month.
The BCCI made a big announcement in April: prize money for domestic events will be increased. The Irani Cup prize money quadrupled to INR 50 lakh from INR 25 lakh, while the champion of the Ranji Trophy would get a massive INR 5 crore in cash. There was also a significant rise in the Senior Women’s One Day Trophy, where the victor took home INR 50 lakh and the runner-up INR 25 lakh.
In the meantime, South Zone won their first trophy in ten years on July 16 in Bengaluru, defeating West Zone by a margin of 75 runs in the Duleep Trophy final. Their previous victory came in the 2013–14 campaign.
The South Zone, captained by Mayank Agarwal, defeated the East Zone in the championship match to win their eighth Deodhar Trophy in August. With a 45-run lead to win the match, Rohan Kunnummal’s amazing century earned him the Player of the Match award.
At the Irani Cup at Rajkot in October, the Rest of India, captained by Hanuma Vihari, defeated Saurashtra by 175 runs. Ashutosh Sharma of Railways made news that same month when, in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match against Arunachal Pradesh, he smashed the fastest T20 fifty by an Indian batter, smashing Yuvraj Singh’s long-standing record of a 12-ball half-century.
On October 17, in their Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2023 match against Andhra Pradesh, Punjab created history by scoring 275/6, the highest total ever by an Indian T20 side. They exceeded the previous record of 263, which Royal Challengers Bangalore of the Indian Premier League set in 2013. During the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on October 31, Assam skipper Riyan Parag set a global record by hitting seven consecutive fifties in T20s.
After defeating Kerala by six wickets in the Mohali quarterfinals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in November, Assam advanced to the semifinals for the first time. In the meantime, Mandeep Singh’s Punjab won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for the first time, defeating Baroda in the Mohali final by 20 runs.
In the women’s division, Mumbai defeated Uttarakhand in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy final held at Raipur. Jemimah Rodrigues led the side to its maiden domestic T20 championship. Haryana concluded the year with a bang, winning the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot to defeat Rajasthan by 30 runs in December to secure the first Vijay Hazare Trophy.
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