# 2018–19 Ranji Trophy Group A

The 2018–19 Ranji Trophy was the 85th season of the Ranji Trophy, the first-class cricket tournament that took place in India. It was contested by 37 teams, divided into four groups, with nine teams in Group A. The group stage ran from 1 November 2018 to 10 January 2019. The top five teams across Group A and Group B progressed to the quarter-finals of the competition.
In the opening round of fixtures, in the match between Mumbai and Railways in Delhi, players wore masks because of the poor air quality. In the third round match between Vidarbha and Baroda, Vidarbha's Wasim Jaffer became the first batsman to score 11,000 runs in the Ranji Trophy. The ninth round match between Vidarbha and Saurashtra was Jaffer's 146th Ranji match. He broke Devendra Bundela's record of playing in the most matches in the Ranji Trophy. In the fourth round match between Gujarat and Mumbai, Gujarat beat Mumbai by nine wickets, to become the first side to have four outright victories against them.
Ahead of the fifth round of fixtures, Saurashtra's captain Jaydev Shah announced that he would retire from all cricket following the team's match against Karnataka. He set the record for the most matches as captain in the Ranji Trophy.
Vidarbha became the first team to qualify from Group A, after Baroda beat Karnataka by two wickets in their final group-stage match. Despite the loss, Karnataka also qualified from Group A. Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra across Group A and B were relegated to Group C, On the final day of the group stage, Saurashtra and Gujarat also qualified from Group A for the quarter-finals.

## Points table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | D | T | NR | Pts | Quot |
| 1 | Vidarbha | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 1.332 |
| 2 | Saurashtra | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 1.108 |
| 3 | Karnataka | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 1.316 |
| 5 | Gujarat | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 1.288 |
| 6 | Baroda | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 1.057 |
| 11 | Mumbai | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0.924 |
| 15 | Railways | 8 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0.868 |
| 17 | Maharashtra | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0.700 |
| 18 | Chhattisgarh | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.635 |
* Top five teams across Groups A and B advanced to the knockout stage.
* Bottom two teams across Groups A and B relegated to the Elite Group C for the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy.

## Fixtures
### Round 1

* 1–4 November 2018 Scorecard
* Match drawn Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune Umpires: Akshay Totre and Sanjay Hazare Player of the match: Faiz Fazal (Vidarbha)
* Vidarbha won the toss and elected to field.
* Darshan Nalkande (Vidarbha) made his first-class debut.
* 1–4 November 2018 Scorecard
* Gujarat won by 9 wickets Moti Bagh Stadium, Vadodara Umpires: Rohan Pandit and Sudhir Asnani Player of the match: Roosh Kalaria (Gujarat)
* Gujarat won the toss and elected to field.
* Arzan Nagwaswalla (Gujarat) made his first-class debut.
* 1–4 November 2018 Scorecard
* Match drawn Karnail Singh Stadium, Delhi Umpires: Nitin Pandit and Krishnamachari Srinivasan Player of the match: Tushar Deshpande (Mumbai)
* Mumbai won the toss and elected to bat.
* Abhinav Dixit, Harsh Tyagi (Railways), Ashay Sardesai and Shams Mulani (Mumbai) all made their first-class debuts.
* Shivam Dube (Mumbai) scored his maiden century in first-class cricket.
* Siddhesh Lad (Mumbai) scored his 3,000th run in first-class cricket.
* 1–4 November 2018 Scorecard
* Match drawn Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot Umpires: Amiesh Saheba and Rajesh Timaney Player of the match: Jaydev Unadkat (Saurashtra)
* Chhattisgarh won the toss and elected to field.
* Harvik Desai (Saurashtra), Sanjeet Desai and Omkar Verma (Chhattisgarh) all made their first-class debuts.
* Sheldon Jackson (Saurashtra) scored his fifteenth century in first-class cricket.

### Round 2

* 12–15 November 2018 Scorecard
* Match drawn Moti Bagh Stadium, Vadodara Umpires: Rohan Pandit and Sudhir Asnani Player of the match: Swapnil Singh (Baroda)
* Maharashtra won the toss and elected to field.
* Ashay Palkar (Maharashtra) made his first-class debut.
* 12–15 November 2018 Scorecard
* Match drawn Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, Nagpur Umpires: K. N. Ananthapadmanabhan and Rajeev Godara
* Vidarbha won the toss and elected to bat.
* BR Sharath and Krishnamurthy Siddharth (Karnataka) both made their first-class debuts.
* Vinay Kumar (Karnataka) played his 100th match in the Ranji Trophy.
* 12–15 November 2018 Scorecard
* Match drawn Sardar Vallabhai Patel Stadium, Valsad Umpires: Sanjay Hazare and Krishnamachari Srinivasan Player of the match: Vishal Kushwah (Chhattisgarh)
* Gujarat won the toss and elected to bat.
* 12–15 November 2018 Scorecard
* Saurashtra won by 3 wickets Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot Umpires: Amiesh Saheba and Somnath Jha Player of the match: Ravindra Jadeja (Saurashtra)
* Railways won the toss and elected to bat.

### Round 3

* 20–23 November 2018 Scorecard
* Match drawn Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, Nagpur Umpires: Amiesh Saheba and Nikhil Patwardhan Player of the match: Aditya Waghmode (Baroda)
* Vidarbha won the toss and elected to bat.
* Wasim Jaffer (Vidarbha) scored his 11,000th run in the Ranji Trophy.
* 20–23 November 2018 Scorecard
* Match drawn KSCA Stadium, Belagavi Umpires: Ulhas Gandhe and K. N. Ananthapadmanabhan Player of the match: Krishnamurthy Siddharth (Karnataka)
* Karnataka won the toss and elected to bat.
* 20–23 November 2018 Scorecard
* Match drawn GS Patel Stadium, Nadiad Umpires: Sanjay Hazare and Rohan Pandit Player of the match: Jaydev Shah (Saurashtra)
* Gujarat won the toss and elected to bat.
* Chetan Sakariya (Saurashtra) made his first-class debut.
* Chetan Sakariya (Saurashtra) took his maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.
* 20–23 November 2018 Scorecard
* Match drawn Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium, Raipur Umpires: Sudhir Asnani and Krishnamachari Srinivasan Player of the match: Mahesh Rawat (Railways)
* Railways won the toss and elected to field.

### Round 4

* 28 November–1 December 2018 Scorecard
* Vidarbha won by 10 wickets Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur Umpires: Sudhir Asnani and Krishnamachari Srinivasan Player of the match: Lalit Yadav (Vidarbha)
* Chhattisgarh won the toss and elected to bat.
* Mohit Kale and Yash Thakur (Vidarbha) both made their first-class debuts.
* 28 November–1 December 2018 Scorecard
* Karnataka won by 7 wickets Srikantadatta Narasimha Raja Wadeyar Ground, Mysore Umpires: Nitin Pandit and Steve O'Shaughnessy Player of the match: Shreyas Gopal (Karnataka)
* Maharashtra won the toss and elected to bat.
* Devdutt Padikkal (Karnataka) and Jay Pande (Maharashtra) both made their first-class debuts.
* 28 November–1 December 2018 Scorecard
* Gujarat won by 9 wickets Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai Umpires: Ulhas Gandhe and C. K. Nandan Player of the match: Shivam Dube (Gujarat)
* Gujarat won the toss and elected to field.
* Dhrumil Matkar (Mumbai) made his first-class debut.
* 28 November–1 December 2018 Scorecard
* Match drawn Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot Umpires: Amiesh Saheba and Vineet Kulkarni Player of the match: Kedar Devdhar (Baroda)
* Saurashtra won the toss and elected to bat.
* Yuvraj Chudasama (Saurashtra) made his first-class debut.

### Round 5

* 6–9 December 2018 Scorecard
* Match drawn Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune Umpires: Krishnamachari Srinivasan and Shawn Craig Player of the match: Swapnil Gugale (Maharashtra)
* Mumbai won the toss and elected to field.
* 6–9 December 2018 Scorecard
* Baroda won by 9 wickets Moti Bagh Stadium, Vadodara Umpires: Abhijit Deshmukh and Rohan Pandit Player of the match: Yusuf Pathan (Baroda)
* Chhattisgarh won the toss and elected to bat.
* Shivalik Sharma (Baroda) and Vikrant Rajput (Chhattisgarh) both made their first-class debuts.
* 6–9 December 2018 Scorecard
* Saurashtra won by 87 runs Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot Umpires: Yeshwant Barde and Brad White Player of the match: Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (Saurashtra)
* Saurashtra won the toss and elected to bat.
* 6–9 December 2018 Scorecard
* Match drawn Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, Valsad Umpires: Nitin Pandit and Saiyed Khalid Player of the match: Nitin Bhille (Railways)
* Railways won the toss and elected to field.

### Round 6

* 14–17 December 2018 Scorecard
* Saurashtra won by 5 wickets Golf Club Ground, Nasik Umpires: Abhijit Bengeri and Jayaraman Madanagopal Player of the match: Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (Saurashtra)
* Maharashtra won the toss and elected to field.
* Vishvaraj Jadeja (Saurashtra) made his first-class debut.
* 14–17 December 2018 Scorecard
* Vidarbha won by 118 runs Karnail Singh Stadium, Delhi Umpires: Amit Bansal and Brad White Player of the match: Aditya Sarwate (Vidarbha)
* Vidarbha won the toss and elected to bat.
* 14–17 December 2018 Scorecard
* Match drawn Lalabhai Contractor Stadium, Surat Umpires: Krishnaraj Srinath and Tapan Sharma Player of the match: Shreyas Gopal (Karnataka)
* Gujarat won the toss and elected to bat.
* Srinivas Sharath and Prateek Jain (Karnataka) both made their first-class debuts.
* 14–17 December 2018 Scorecard
* Match drawn Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai Umpires: Chettithody Shamshuddin and Subrat Das Player of the match: Shreyas Iyer (Mumbai)
* Baroda won the toss and elected to field.
* Vikrant Auti and Eknath Kerkar (Mumbai) both made their first-class debuts.

### Round 7

* 22–25 December 2018 Scorecard
* Match drawn Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, Nagpur Umpires: Saiyed Khalid and Rohan Pandit Player of the match: Wasim Jaffer (Vidarbha)
* Gujarat won the toss and elected to bat.
* Atharva Taide (Vidarbha) made his first-class debut.
* Wasim Jaffer (Vidarbha) scored his 55th century in first-class cricket.
* 22–25 December 2018 Scorecard
* Karnataka won by 176 runs KSCA Navule Stadium, Shimoga Umpires: Amiesh Saheba and Vineet Kulkarni Player of the match: Dega Nischal (Karnataka)
* Railways won the toss and elected to field.
* Sahim Hasan (Railways) made his first-class debut.
* 22–25 December 2018 Scorecard
* Match drawn Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai Umpires: Nikhil Patwardhan Player of the match: Jay Bista (Mumbai)
* Saurashtra won the toss and elected to field.
* Tanush Kotian (Mumbai) made his first-class debut.
* 22–25 December 2018 Scorecard
* Match drawn Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium, Raipur Umpires: Anil Chaudhary and C. K. Nandan Player of the match: Ajay Mandal (Chhattisgarh)
* Maharashtra won the toss and elected to bat.
* Anuj Tiwary (Chhattisgarh) and Mandar Bhandari (Maharashtra) both made their first-class debuts.

### Round 8

* 30 December 2018 – 2 January 2019 Scorecard
* Karnataka won by 198 runs KSCA Cricket Ground, Alur Umpires: Anil Chaudhary and Nitin Menon Player of the match: Ronit More (Karnataka)
* Chhattisgarh won the toss and elected to field.
* Liyan Khan (Karnataka) made his first-class debut.
* 30 December 2018 – 2 January 2019 Scorecard
* Gujarat won by an innings and 130 runs Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune Umpires: Sanjay Hazare and C. K. Nandan Player of the match: Chintan Gaja (Gujarat)
* Gujarat won the toss and elected to field.
* 30 December 2018 – 2 January 2019 Scorecard
* Baroda won by 164 runs South Eastern Railway Stadium, Visakhapatnam Umpires: Amiesh Saheba and K. N. Ananthapadmanabhan Player of the match: Krunal Pandya (Baroda)
* Railways won the toss and elected to field.
* Gandhar Bhatawadekar (Railways) made his first-class debut.
* 30 December 2018 – 2 January 2019 Scorecard
* Vidarbha won by an innings and 145 runs Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, Nagpur Umpires: Sadashiv Iyer and Virender Sharma Player of the match: Wasim Jaffer (Vidarbha)
* Vidarbha won the toss and elected to bat.
* Wasim Jaffer (Vidarbha) played in his 145th match in the Ranji Trophy, equalling the record set by Devendra Bundela.
* Dhrumil Matkar (Mumbai) took his maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.

### Round 9

* 7–10 January 2019 Scorecard
* Mumbai won by 9 wickets Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai Umpires: Nitin Menon and Yeshwant Barde Player of the match: Tushar Deshpande (Mumbai)
* Mumbai won the toss and elected to field.
* Yashasvi Jaiswal (Mumbai) and Lavin Coster (Chhattisgarh) both made their first-class debuts.
* 7–10 January 2019 Scorecard
* Railways won by an innings and 58 runs South Eastern Railway Stadium, Visakhapatnam Umpires: Amiesh Saheba and Sanjay Hazare Player of the match: Mahesh Rawat (Railways)
* Maharashtra won the toss and elected to bat.
* Nikhil Naik and Siddhesh Warghante (Maharashtra) both made their first-class debuts.
* 7–10 January 2019 Scorecard
* Match drawn Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot Umpires: Anil Dandekar and Sudhir Asnani Player of the match: Jaydev Unadkat (Saurashtra)
* Saurashtra won the toss and elected to bat.
* Suniket Bingewar (Vidarbha) made his first-class debut.
* 7–10 January 2019 Scorecard
* Baroda won by 2 wickets Moti Bagh Stadium, Vadodara Umpires: Chettithody Shamshuddin and Anil Chaudhary Player of the match: Bhargav Bhatt (Baroda)
* Karnataka won the toss and elected to bat.
* Shubhang Hegde (Karnataka) made his first-class debut.