44 all out — Mumbai’s second lowest total in Ranji Trophy

Karnataka dismissed Mumbai for a mere 44 in the semi-final of Ranji Trophy 2014-15 at Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore. Bharath Seervi lists records related to low totals in Ranji Trophy.

Mumbai have produced another shocking performance in this season’s Ranji Trophy. In the semi-final at Chinnaswamy stadium, Bangalore (Mumbai had reached there after beating Delhi by 204 runs in the quarter-finals at Cuttack) Karnataka were all out for 202 runs in the 61st over on Day One.  Karnataka vs Mumbai: Semi-Final Day 1 report

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Mumbai could bat just 93 balls and were dismissed for 44 runs by Karnataka bowlers, mostly due to Vinay Kumar, who claimed six for 20 from eight overs. Only two batsmen could get into double-digit scores — Shreyas Iyer (15) and Suryakumar Yadav (12). Four batsmen were out for duck, while Abhishek Nayar could not come to bat. Tamil Nadu vs Maharashtra: Semi-Final Day 1 report

Mumbai’s total of 44 is their second-lowest total ever in the history of Ranji Trophy. They were all out for 42 against Gujarat in 1977-78 and lost by 225 runs. Their only other total of less than 50 was against Nawanagar in 1937-38 where they were all out for 45. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: POINTS TABLE

Lowest total for Mumbai (Bombay) in Ranji Trophy

–          Mumbai’s 94 Uttar Pradesh was in the semi-final of 1997-98.

–          There are two other two-digit totals for Mumbai in First-class cricket other than those listed in the table above — 87 against Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in 1933-34 and 93 against Rest of India in the 1997-98 Irani Trophy. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Complete Coverage

Lowest totals in quarter-final and semi-final in Ranji Trophy

–          Bihar’s 43 is the only one that happed in the quarter-finals in the above list, while the other three took place in semi-finals.

Lowest totals against Karnataka (Mysore) in Ranji Trophy

–          Kerala were all out for 27 and 60 against Karnataka in 1963/64 to give Karnataka a win by an innings and 198 runs. Karnataka had scored 285 for five in their first innings.

–          The other two matches had also resulted in innings wins for Karnataka.

Mumbai’s whole inning lasted for only 93 balls (15.3 overs). It is the joint fifth-lowest balls faced by a team in an all-out innings in Ranji Trophy. The lowest was 80 balls by Assam, when they were all out for 32 against Bihar in 1971/72.

All out in least number of balls in Ranji Trophy

–          All of the previous occasions resulted in heavy losses for the teams. In fact, except one, all were innings defeats.

–          The record in overall first-class cricket is 53 balls for Hampshire (15 all out) against Warwickshire in 1922.

Though Mumbai reached the semi-finals, they produced some unexpected performances this season. In their first match against Jammu and Kashmir, the 40-time Ranji Champions lost by six wickets. Jammu and Kashmir have won only 20 matches in more than 250 matches they played in Ranji Trophy. They beat Mumbai in the first encounter between the sides! ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Leading Run-Scorers

Mumbai produced another shocker when they lost to Tamil Nadu by an innings and 44 runs in Chennai. It was only their fourth innings defeat in Ranji Trophy and first in more than 64 years. The last time a team had defeated Mumbai by an innings in Ranji Trophy was Gujarat, in 1950-51. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Leading Wicket-Takers

However, Mumbai have played good enough this season to reach the semi-finals. Having said that, the nadir of 44 all out from 93 balls may knock them out of the tournament; all said and done, it will be a delight to watch them become champions even after those upsets. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: List of Best Fielders

(Bharath Seervi is a cricket statistician who is obsessed with digging numbers, facts and records related to the game. An active member of Society of Cricket Statisticians of India, he blogs at www.cricketseervistats.blogspot.com. He can be followed on Twitter at www.twitter.com/SeerviBharath and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SeerviCricket)