# 1948–49 Ranji Trophy

The 1948–49 Ranji Trophy was the 15th season of the Ranji Trophy. Bombay won the title defeating Baroda in the final. The semi-final match between Bombay and Maharashtra was the highest-scoring first-class match of all time. A total of 2,376 runs were scored, including nine centuries.

## Highlights

* B. B. Nimbalkar scored 443 not out for Maharashtra v Kathiawar at Poona. It was the second highest individual score in first class cricket at the time and still the highest by an Indian cricketer. Nimbalkar was nine runs behind Don Bradman's record at lunch on the third day but Kathiawar conceded the match at this point.
   * Maharashtra's 826 for 4 was the second highest team total in Ranji trophy at the time.
* The Zonal format was not used in the 1948–49 season of Ranji Trophy. It was the only time that this was done until the zones were replaced by the Elite and Plate divisions in 2002–03
* The Bombay v Maharashtra semifinal produced 2376 runs, in the most in any first class match. Bombay's total of 1365 runs is the record for a team in any first class match
   * Three batsmen – Uday Merchant 143 & 156, Dattu Phadkar 131 & 160 and Madhusudan Rege 133 & 100 – uniquely scored hundreds in both innings.
* The semifinals and finals were timeless matches. Both the Bombay – Maharashtra semifinal and the Bombay – Baroda final went into the seventh day,
* Three of the four semifinalists were from the West Zone.
* Assam made their Ranji Trophy debut in this season against United Provinces.

## Draw
### Top half

| Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | | Semifinals | Semifinals |
| | | 17 Dec 1948 – Shillong | 17 Dec 1948 – Shillong | | | | |
| | | Assam | 153 & 118 | | | |
| | | United Provinces | 368 | | | |
| | | | | 12 Feb 1949 – Kanpur | 12 Feb 1949 – Kanpur | | |
| | | | | United Provinces | 131 & 91 | |
| 12 Nov 1948 – Bangalore | 12 Nov 1948 – Bangalore | | | | United Provinces | 131 & 91 | |
| 12 Nov 1948 – Bangalore | 12 Nov 1948 – Bangalore | | | Maharashtra | 396 | |
| Mysore | 186 & 122 | | | Maharashtra | 396 | |
| Mysore | 186 & 122 | 16 Dec 1948 – Poona | 16 Dec 1948 – Poona | | | | |
| Maharashtra | 327 & 157 | 16 Dec 1948 – Poona | 16 Dec 1948 – Poona | | | |
| Maharashtra | 327 & 157 | Maharashtra | 826/4 | | | |
| | | Kathiawar | 238 | | | |
| | | | | | | | 5 Mar 1949 – Poona | 5 Mar 1949 – Poona |
| | | | | | | | Maharashtra | 407 & 604 |
| | | | | | | | Bombay | 651 & 714 |
| | | | | 12 Feb 1949 – Madras | 12 Feb 1949 – Madras | | | |
| | | | | Madras | 331 & 106/2 | | | |
| | | | | Bombay | 375 & 254/5d | |
| | | 21 Jan 1949 – Calcutta | 21 Jan 1949 – Calcutta | | | | |
| | | Bengal | 251 & 131/4 | | | |
| | | Bombay | 574/5d & 127/2d | | | |

### Bottom half

| Round 2 | Round 2 | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals |
| 21 Jan 1949 – Jamshedpur | 21 Jan 1949 – Jamshedpur | | | |
| Bihar | 153 & 136 | | |
| Delhi | 212 & 48 | | |
| | | 12 Feb 1949 – Jamshedpur | 12 Feb 1949 – Jamshedpur | |
| | | Bihar | 188 & 128 |
| | | Holkar | 328 |
| 3 Dec 1948 – Indore | 3 Dec 1948 – Indore | | | |
| Holkar | 390 & 46/1 | | |
| Central Provinces and Berar | 247 & 317/8d | | |
| | | | | 7 Mar 1949 – Indore | 7 Mar 1949 – Indore |
| | | | | Holkar | 133 & 240 |
| | | | | Baroda | 349 & 25/1 |
| | | 17 Dec 1948 – Ahmedabad | 17 Dec 1948 – Ahmedabad | | |
| | | Gujarat | 198 & 94 | | |
| | | Baroda | 211 & 253 |
| 16 Nov 1948 – Secunderabad | 16 Nov 1948 – Secunderabad | | | |
| Hyderabad | 80 & 80 | | |
| Baroda | 98 & 65/2 | | |

## Final

* 18–24 March 1949 Scorecard
* Bombay won by 468 runs Brabourne Stadium, Bombay Umpires: Prasad Sinha and M. G. Vijayasarathi
* Bombay won the toss and decided to bat
* Timeless match, ended on the seventh day

## Scorecards and averages

* CricketArchive