We take a look at some of the most interesting numbers ahead of the Ranji Trophy 2018-19 semi-finals
Hemant Brar23-Jan-2019As Saurashtra and Karnataka and Vidarbha and Kerala get ready for their Ranji Trophy 2018-19 semi-final engagements, here are some interesting numbers to chew on.Vidarbha31 – Runs Wasim Jaffer needs to score to become the first to reach the 1000-run mark in a season more than once. Playing for Mumbai in 2008-09, he had scored 1260 runs from 16 innings at 84.00. This time, he has 969 runs from 12 innings at an average of 80.75.1 – Among the four semi-finalists, Jaffer is the only one to score a double-century this season.4 – There have been only five 500-plus team totals this season, and Vidarbha have registered four of them.6 – Number of wickets Aditya Sarwate needs to break Akshay Wakhare’s record of most wickets for Vidarbha (49 in 2015-16) in a season. The left-arm spinner has 44 wickets from nine games at an average of 21.02 so far.Kerala0 – The number of Kerala batsmen with a batting average of 50 or more this season. Akshay Chandran has the highest average with 45.00 (135 runs from seven innings).23.50 – Difference between Jalaj Saxena’s batting and bowling averages. In eight matches, he has scored 537 runs at 44.75 and taken 28 wickets at 21.25.0 – Kerala’s Ranji final appearances; among the four semi-finalists, Kerala are the only ones to have never reached the title round.Karnataka1 – Karnataka batsmen with a higher batting average than Vinay Kumar this season. Vinay has scored 312 runs from nine innings at 62.40. Only Manish Pandey – 351 runs at 70.20 – has done better.5 – Karnataka bowlers with 20 or more wickets this season – Shreyas Gopal (31 wickets at an average of 21.83), Ronit More (30 at 19.20), J Suchith (24 at 19.45), Abhimanyu Mithun (22 at 21.63) and K Gowtham (20 at 20.20). None of the other semi-finalists have more than three in that list.1786 – Balls faced by Dega Nishchal – the most by anyone among the four semi-finalists. In 18 innings, Nishchal has scored 620 runs at 36.47 with three centuries and as many fifties.Saurashtra6 – Saurashtra batsmen with centuries this season – the joint-most with Kerala among the semi-finalists. However, Saurashtra are the only team with no batsman who has scored more than one century.5 – Number of wickets Dharmendrasinh Jadeja needs to become the first Saurashtra bowler to take 50 wickets in a single season. So far, Jadeja has taken 45 wickets from nine matches at 28.15.16 – Catches taken by Harvik Desai so far – the joint-most for Saurashtra in a single season. Sheldon Jackson had the same number in 2015-16. The overall record belongs to Jaffer, who had taken 23 catches for Mumbai in 2003-04.
