Cricket tournament
 The Ranji Trophy | |
| Administrator(s) | BCCI |
|---|---|
| Cricket format | First-class |
| Tournament format(s) | Knockout |
| Champions | Maharashtra (1st title) |
| Participants | 18 |
| Matches | 17 |
| Most runs | Vijay Hazare (Maharashtra) (619) |
| Most wickets | Vijay Hazare (Maharashtra) (20) |
| ← 1938–391940–41 → | |
The 1939–40 Ranji Trophy was the sixth season of the Ranji Trophy. Eighteen teams took part in four zones in a knockout format. Northern India who appeared in the previous season dropped out but would return in 1940–41. Maharashtra won their first title defeating United Provinces in the final.
Highlights
- Vijay Hazare topped both the batting and bowling aggregates, emulating Amar Singh's feat in 1937–38.
- Hazare's 316* against Baroda was the first triple century in Indian first class cricket. He scored 151 runs (165* – 316*) before lunch on the third day which is a record in Indian first class cricket, as of 2022. Maharashtra scored 240 runs in the session for the loss of one wicket; their last two wickets added 326 runs.
- Amar Singh scored 113* for Nawanagar v Baroda. He completed his 1000 runs in Ranji Trophy during this match. This was to be his 16th and last Ranji match as he would die in five months. He took his 100th wicket in 1938–39 and thus became the first player to do the 1000 run – 100 wicket double in Ranji Trophy. In 16 Ranji matches, Amar Singh scored 1009 runs at an average of 43, and 105 wickets at 15.48.
- The final was a timeless match. Maharashtra won on the fourth day.
Zonal Matches
West Zone
| Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | ||||||||
| 6 Jan 1940 – Poona | ||||||||||
| Maharashtra | 543/8d & 227/5d | |||||||||
| 2 Dec 1939 – Karachi | ||||||||||
| Western India | 306 & 84/4 | |||||||||
| Sind | 127 & 92/3 | |||||||||
| 21 Jan 1940 – Poona | ||||||||||
| Western India | 266 & 210/3d | |||||||||
| Maharashtra | 650/9d | |||||||||
| 18 Nov 1939 – Baroda | ||||||||||
| Baroda | 303 & 283/5 | |||||||||
| Baroda | 127 & 166 | |||||||||
| 15 Dec 1939 – Baroda | ||||||||||
| Gujarat | 100 & 141 | |||||||||
| Baroda | 399 & 24/0 | |||||||||
| 3 Nov 1939 – Bombay | ||||||||||
| Nawanagar | 233 & 189 | |||||||||
| Bombay | 351 | |||||||||
| Nawanagar | 387 | |||||||||
South Zone
| Round 1 | Round 2 | |||||
| 1 Dec 1939 – Hyderabad | ||||||
| Hyderabad | 443 | |||||
| 4 Nov 1939 – Madras | ||||||
| Madras | 262 & 179 | |||||
| Madras | 172 & 200/8 | |||||
| Mysore | 108 & 263 | |||||
East Zone
| Round 1 | Round 2 | |||||
| 2 Dec 1939 – Jamshedpur | ||||||
| Bihar | 135 & 111 | |||||
| 13 Jan 1940 – Calcutta | ||||||
| Bengal | 297 | |||||
| Bengal | 260 & 163 | |||||
| 6 Jan 1940– Allahabad | ||||||
| United Provinces | 295 & 124/8 | |||||
| United Provinces | 326 | |||||
| Central India | 64 & 166 | |||||
North Zone
| Round 1 | Round 2 | |||||
| 9 Dec 1939 – Delhi | ||||||
| Delhi | 85 & 138 | |||||
| 10 Feb 1940 – Ajmer | ||||||
| Rajputana | 207 & 17/3 | |||||
| Rajputana | 105 & 133 | |||||
| 29 Jan 1940 – Patiala | ||||||
| Southern Punjab | 428 | |||||
| Southern Punjab | 205 & 116/5 | |||||
| North West Frontier Province | 228 & 92 | |||||
Inter-Zonal Knockout Stage
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 17 Feb 1940 – Poona | ||||||
| Maharashtra | 482 & 203/6 | |||||
| 24 Feb 1940 – Poona | ||||||
| Southern Punjab | 429 & 309 | |||||
| Maharashtra | 581 & 12/0 | |||||
| United Provinces | 237 & 355 | |||||
| United Provinces | Walkover | |||||
| Hyderabad | ||||||
Final
| 24–27 Feb 1940 Scorecard |
| United Provinces | v | Maharashtra (H) |
| 237 (66.5 overs) B. K. Garudachar 63* Ranga Sohoni 3/32 |
581 (165 overs) Kamal Bhandarkar 132 Masood Salahuddin 2/90 | |
| 355 (122.3 overs) Phiroze Palia 216 Ranga Sohoni 3/97 |
12/0 (1.5 overs) |
| Maharashtra won by 10 wickets Poona Gymkhana Ground, Poona |
- United Provinces won the toss and elected to bat
Scorecards and averages
References
- "Ranji Trophy, 1939/40 / Records / Most runs". Retrieved 23 August 2014.
- "Ranji Trophy, 1939/40 / Records / Most wickets". Retrieved 23 August 2014.
- Most runs before lunch, acscricket.com
- Mahatashtra v Baroda, 1939-40
- Nawanagar v Baroda 1939-40