As we head into the final weeks of the Indian Domestic cricket season, four teams have qualified for the semi-finals of Ranji Trophy 2023-24. Two-time champions Vidarbha to face Madhya Pradesh while the most successful team in Ranji Trophy's history Mumbai are all set to face Tamil Nadu in the semis of the tournament.

Ranji Trophy 2023-24 Quarter-finals results

Vidarbha vs Karnataka

Vidarbha secured a 127-run win over Karnataka in Nagpur to progress to the Ranji Trophy semi-final. Aditya Sarwate's left-arm spin bowling was vital, picking up seven wickets across the match and taking the key wickets of Mayank Agarwal and Manish Pandey early in Karnataka's chase. Despite a solid start, Karnataka collapsed to 131-4 and were bowled out for 185, failing to chase the target of 393. Vidarbha will now face Madhya Pradesh in the semi-final against their former coach Chandrakant Pandit who helped them win the title in 2016-17 and 2017-18.

Vidarbha 460 (Taide 109, Rathod 93, Nair 90, Kaverappa 4-99) and 196 (Shorey 57, Kaverappa 6-61)

Karnataka 286 (Jose 82, Samarth 59, Thakur 3-48, Sarwate 3-50) and 243 (Agarwal 70, Sarwate 4-78)

Also Read: Most runs in Ranji Trophy in a single season

Madhya Pradesh vs Andhra

In a close game, Madhya Pradesh defeated Andhra to enter the Ranji Trophy semi-finals. Andhra's hopes of a semi-final berth were shattered when they were bowled out for 165 while chasing 170. MP's fast bowler Anubhav Agarwal played a crucial role by picking up 6 wickets for 52 runs. He won the player of the match award for his haul of 9 wickets for 85 runs in the game.

Himanshu Mantri's gritty innings of 43 runs in the second innings helped MP to set a target of 170. Andhra let go of several opportunities to take control of the game, which eventually led to their defeat.

Madhya Pradesh 234 (Dubey 64, Mantri 49, Sasikanth 4-37) and 107 (Mantri 43, Nitish 4-28)

Andhra 172 (Shinde 38, Anubhav 3-33, Kartikeya 3-41) and 165 (Vihari 55, Anubhav 6-52)

Also Read: "I have decided that I will never play for Andhra again:" Hanuma Vihari after getting humiliated by the association

Tamil Nadu vs Saurashtra

Tamil Nadu defeated Saurashtra by an innings and 33 runs in their quarter-final match. R Sai Kishore was the star performer, picking up a match haul of 9 for 93 and scoring a half-century in the first innings. This win helped Tamil Nadu secure their first semi-final entry since 2016-17. Sai Kishore's impressive form throughout the season has seen him rise to the top of the wickets tally with 47 wickets at an average of 18.78. He was instrumental in restricting Saurashtra to 183 in the first innings and then ran through their batting order in the second innings.

Tamil Nadu 338 (Indrajith 80, Boopathi 65, Jani 3-22) 

Saurashtra 183 (Desai 83, Sai Kishore 5-66) and 122 (Pujara 46, Sai Kishore 4-27, Warrier 3-18)

Baroda vs Mumbai

Mumbai progressed to Ranji Trophy 2023-24 semi-finals on the basis of a first-innings lead. . Tushar Deshpande made 123, the highest by an Indian No. 11 in first-class cricket, and added 232 runs for the tenth wicket with Tanush Kotian. Mumbai ransacked 569 before they were bowled out, and the match ended up in a draw with Baroda on 121 for 3.

Also Read: Ranji Trophy 2023-24: Mumbai's No. 10 and 11 batsmen score centuries to break record in First-Class cricket

Mumbai 384 (Musheer 203, Bhatt 7-112) and 569 (Deshpande 123, Kotian 120, Tamore 114, Bhatt 7-200) 

Baroda 348 (Solanki 136, Rawat 124, Mulani 4-121) and 121/3 (Moliya 54*, Rawat 32, Kotian 2-16)

Ranji Trophy 2023-24 semi-finals fixtures

Ranji Trophy 2023-24 final schedule

Date: 10 March 2024

Abhimanyu Easwaran was named the captain of the India A team for the tour of England as the BCCI announced the India A squad for the upcoming tour starting from 30th May 2025. 

India A will play two first-class matches against the England Lions at Canterbury and Northampton. Then they will play a practice match against the senior Indian team to prepare them for the big series against England. 

Karun Nair was rewarded for his excellent domestic form as he made a return to the India A side. His performance for the A side might decide whether he will be given a chance for the senior team or not.

Abishek Porel, who was named in the last India A's tour to Australia, has been replaced by Ishan Kishan in the side.

Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan, who will be busy in the Indian Premier League for the Gujarat Titans, will join the squad from the second match. 

India A squad for the England tour

India A squad: Abhimanyu Easwaran (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel (VC) (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shardul Thakur, Ishan Kishan (WK), Manav Suthar, Tanush Kotian, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sarfaraz Khan, Tushar Deshpande, Harsh Dubey

India A' schedule for the England tour

The rising star of RCB, Devdutt Padikkal, is ruled out of IPL 2025 following injury issues, leaving a void in the team. As a result, Mayank Agarwal has been brought in as his replacement for the rest of the tournament.

Find out more about Devdutt Padikkal's injury and what Agarwal brings to the team.

Devdutt Padikkal in IPL 2025

Devdutt Padikkal had an amazing season in IPL 2025 with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru so far. He played in 10 matches for RCB this season and was pretty impactful as a no. 3 batter for the team. 

Padikkal's strike rate of 150.61 this season was the highest of his IPL career. He scored a total of 247 runs in 10 matches, with 2 back-to-back half centuries.

We witnessed some spectacular rhythm of partnership between Padikkal and Virat Kohli, and their perfect sync of running between the wickets.

Read Also: Best Celebrations of IPL 2025 so far: From Abhishek's papercut to Hasaranga's Pushpa move

Padikkal's 2025 IPL scores:

• vs KKR: 10 (10 balls)
• vs CSK: 27 (14 balls)
• vs GT: 4 (3 balls)
• vs MI: 37 (22 balls)
• vs DC: 1 (8 balls)
• vs RR: 40* (28 balls)
• vs PBKS: 61 (35 balls)
• vs RR: 50 (27 balls)
• vs DC: 0 (2 balls)
• vs CSK: 17 (15 balls)

How does Padikkal's injury affect RCB?

Devdutt Padikkal's sudden hamstring injury brings a new challenge for RCB as they might need some time to make proper adjustments in the playing XI. As Padikkal had already established his presence as a number 3 batter, the team may have to try out new combinations to find a solid pace in their batting order.

RCB has already identified a suitable player for this role, but seeing how it goes for the team as the playoffs are approaching will be a challenging thing to witness.

Mayank Agarwal returns to RCB after 12 years 

The Bengaluru born batsman, Mayank Agarwal, who started his IPL career with the franchise in 2011, made comeback after 12 years. This homecoming is a special one for the team as Mayank has significant IPL experience, having scored 2661 runs in 127 matches so far. 

Mayank is likely to play his comeback match with the RCB in the upcoming match against Lucknow Super Giants on 9th May, 2025.

Read Also: A sinking tale of playoffs: Can LSG make it to the top 4 in IPL 2025?

Mayank's IPL career (2011-2024)

• Matches played: 124
• Runs: 2661
• Highest score: 106
• Avg: 22.74
• SR: 133.05
• Centuries: 1
• Half-century: 13
• 4s: 263
• 6s: 98

Chennai Super Kings opener Ayush Mhatre has missed out on scoring his first century in IPL against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, but during this time he created history. Mhatre became the youngest batsman to score a half-century for Chennai. He achieved this feat at the age of just 17 years and 291 days. Apart from this, Ayush has become the third youngest Half-centurions in IPL. Ahead of him are Riyan Parag and Vaibhav Suryavanshi.

In this article, we will be discussing about the five youngest half-centurions in IPL history.

Also Read: IPL Table toppers: IPL Playoffs teams from 2008 to 2024

Youngest Half-centurions in IPL History

1. Vaibhav Suryavanshi (2025) | 14y 32d

Vaibhav Suryavanshi, aged 14 years and 32 days by the time of playing only his third IPL match in the 2025 season, rained down 11 huge sixes and seven boundaries against Gujarat Titans bowlers. The teenager smashed his maiden half-century in the game to become youngest half-centurions in IPL history. Suryavanshi ended up converting it into a splendid 35-ball century, the second fastest in the history of the tournament.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s innings helped Rajasthan Royals thwart Gujarat Titans’ strong new ball and spin attack during their pursuit of 210 runs.

2. Riyan Parag (2019) | 17y 175d

Riyan Parag registered his first half-century in the IPL at the age of 17 years and 175 days back in 2019 during Rajasthan Royal's final league stage match against Delhi Capitals. On a day when most Rajasthan Royals batsmen struggled with the bat, Riyan Parag displayed maturity beyond his years to take his team to 115/9 in their stipulated quota of 20 overs.

Batting at number six and arriving at the crease at 30-4 inside the powerplay, Parag bided his time across 49 deliveries to score 50 runs, laced with four fours and two sixes, in Delhi. His innings helped Rajasthan Royals post a respectable 115-9, having once headed for a much worse collapse. The Capitals ended up winning the match by five wickets in 16.1 overs.

3. Ayush Mhatre (2025) | 17y 291d

Ayush Mhatre scored his maiden IPL half-century in just 25 balls to become the third youngest player to score a half-century in the history of the league. The 17-year-old smashed 94 runs off just 48 deliveries in the game. His innings included 9 fours and 5 sixes. Mhatre missed his much deserved century by 6 runs.

Mhatre also became the youngest player of Chennai Super Kings in IPL history to register a half-century. He left Suresh Raina behind, after hitting a fifty at the age of 17 years and 291 days. Raina who previously held the record had achieved the feat in 2008 at the age of 21 years and 148 days in a match against Mumbai Indians.

4. Sanju Samson (2013) | 18y 169d

A Rajasthan Royals batter through and through, Sanju Samson blazed his team to an emphatic four-wicket victory against RCB, as a teenager. Playing his first IPL season back in 2013, Samson helped Rajasthan pull off a 172-run chase by cracking 63 runs from just 41 balls with seven boundaries and two huge sixes at Jaipur’s Sawai Mansingh Stadium.

Batting at number three, the talented right-hander took on the likes of RP Singh, Jaydev Unadkat, Vinay Kumar head-on to bag the ‘Player of the Match’ award. He was 18 years and 169 days at the time to become IPL’s youngest half-centurion.

Also Read: Most IPL Finals: Teams with most final appearances in IPL history

5. Prithvi Shaw (2018) | 18y 169d

In just the second match of his IPL career, Prithvi Shaw smashed 62 runs from 44 balls, doing so against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in match 26 of the 2018 season. Opening the innings for Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals) alongside Colin Munro, Shaw smashed seven boundaries and two sixes in the innings as his team mounted 219-4 from 20 overs.

Aged 18 years and 169 days at the time, the talented right-handed opening batter became one of the youngest half-centurions in IPL history.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a tournament where batsmen dominate more. But, in the history of the cash-rich league, there have been many bowlers who fool the batsmen with their clever bowling and deprive them of scoring runs by bowling dot balls.

Fast cricket is being seen in every season of IPL, where batsmen hit a lot of fours and sixes. On the other hand, bowlers seem helpless most of the time. To get out of this situation, you need to have bowlers who can control the run flow of the opposition team by bowling dot balls.

Also Read: IPL facts: Every player to make IPL debut before turning 18

In this article, we will be discussing about the top 10 bowlers with most dot balls bowled in IPL history.

Most Dot Balls Bowled in IPL

10. Amit Mishra | 1191

Amit Mishra has been among the top wicket-takers in the IPL. He is also the only bowler to take three hat-tricks in IPL history.

The experienced leg spinner has outfoxed batters with his flighted deliveries and leg breaks. Mishra was in his prime in the initial seasons of the league, taking heaps of wickets. Over the years, Mishra has bowled 1191 dot balls in 162 games while picking up 174 wickets. 

9. Umesh Yadav | 1203

Umesh Yadav has sent down 1203 dot balls in his IPL career. The right-arm fast bowler grabbed everyone’s attention with his quick pace. He then showcased his ability in the IPL, making his debut for Delhi in 2010. Yadav can move the ball in and out while hitting above 135 kmph consistently.

Thus far, the Vidarbha bowler has represented four teams and took 144 wickets in 148 matches.

8. Harbhajan Singh | 1268

Harbhajan Singh delivered 1268 dot balls in his 163-match IPL career. The former off-spinner was a crucial member of Mumbai Indians (MI) for 10 seasons between 2008 and 2017. He played a major role in Mumbai winning the league three times, especially in 2013, when he racked up 24 wickets. 

Harbhajan then moved to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), playing his last game in 2021. Harbhajan got the better of batters with his varying length and pace while using his off-spin tricks. He took 150 wickets in 160 appearances at an economy rate of 7.08.

7. Yuzvendra Chahal | 1272

Yuzvendra Chahal is the most successful bowler in IPL history, sitting at the top of the wicket chart. The leg spinner has bagged 214 wickets in 168 matches while giving away 7.90 runs per over. On top of that, Chahal has delivered 1272 dot balls in the league. 

What makes his achievement special is he bowled most of his overs at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, where batters find it easy to score runs. Despite that, the leggie put up a break on run scoring, which is evident from his numbers.

6. Ravindra Jadeja | 1273

One of the best all-rounders, Ravindra Jadeja has kept batters calm with his accurate bowling. The elite left-arm spinner bowls wicket-to-wicket, not giving much room to batters to score runs.

This has resulted in him bowling 1273 dot deliveries in 219 innings. Jadeja also boasts 165 wickets at an economy of 7.65 while representing four teams.

Also Read: IPL Facts: Best Economy in IPL Since 2024

5. Jasprit Bumrah | 1301

Jasprit Bumrah’s rise in world cricket is phenomenal. The right-arm pacer came to the IPL in 2013 and turned everyone’s heads around with his unorthodox slingy action. Thanks to his exploits in the league, Bumrah soon entered the Indian team, emerging as one of the greatest fast bowlers from the country. 

Mumbai Indians scouts unearthed the rookie talent, who has been playing for them ever since. Bumrah’s awkward release point makes it hard for batters to play him, helping him put a lid on run scoring. Thus far, he has fired down the fifth-most dot balls, with 1301 dots in 137 innings while adding 169 wickets at an economy rate of 7.30.

4. Piyush Chawla | 1337

One of the most successful bowlers in IPL history, India's dangerous leg-spinner Piyush Chawla has bowled 1337 dot balls in the tournament. He has managed to secure the fourth position in this list.

Additionally, with an impressive economy rate of 7.96 and an excellent bowling average of 26.6, Chawla holds the record for taking the second-highest number of wickets (192) in the history of the tournament.

3. Ravichandran Ashwin | 1606

India's experienced off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is third on this list with 1606 dot balls in 215 IPL innings. His economy in the league is impressive at 7.19 and he has also taken 4 wickets once.

Ashwin captained the Punjab Kings franchise for two seasons and played for Delhi Capitals in the 2020 and 2021 seasons and is currently playing for Chennai Super Kings. He has taken 185 wickets in an average of 30.23.

2. Sunil Narine | 1651

West Indies mystery spinner Sunil Narine made his IPL debut in 2012. Since then, this star all-rounder has been an important player for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Batters often find it hard to navigate his mystery spin, resulting in fewer runs and more wickets.

In the history of IPL, Narine has bowled 1651 dot balls and he is second on this list. Narine has taken a total of 187 wickets in 181 IPL innings.

Also Read: IPL Facts: Lowest Total Defended in IPL

1. Bhuvneshwar Kumar | 1736

India's experienced right-arm fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar comes first in the list of most dot balls bowled in IPL history. Bhuvi, who has the ability to swing the new ball both ways, has bowled 1736 dot balls in the cash-rich league. 

Bhuvi started playing in the IPL in 2011 with Pune Warriors before moving to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in 2014. Since then, he has shown his incredible control over the ball, often putting a break on the run flow of the batting sides. He will now represent Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the 2025 season.

The Indian fast bowler has taken 189 wickets in 183 innings at an average of 27.14 and an economy of 7.57.