8 Ranji cricketers with outrageous statistics

Ravi Shastri has slammed six sixes in an over, scoring the full 36.India’s premier domestic tournament, the Ranji Trophy is being played for the last 82 years. Over this expansive period, the tournament has witnessed some mind-boggling matches that have defined the quality of Indian cricket.Naturally, it has also thrown up some bizarre statistics that sometimes seems unbelievable. Whether it is with batting or bowling, talented players have spun out some astounding records which is worth taking a look at.So, here is a list of eight Ranji cricketers who wowed us with mind-boggling stats:

#1 Ravi Shastri\'s 6 sixes in an over

Ravi Shastri holds therecord of scoring six sixes in a six-ball over in first-class cricket

Long before Yuvraj Singh set the world on fire with his full monty, Ravi Shastri had sent six sixes out of the park in one over in a first-class match against Baroda.

On January 10, 1985,Shastri equalled Gary Soberss first-Class record of scoring six sixes in a six-ball over and went on to score the fastest-ever double century in First-Class cricket history. He got the double ton in 123 balls.

It was carnage on the field.He went after the left-arm spin of Tilak Raj to plunder six sixes in an over to move from 147 to 183, targeting the arc between the straight field on the leg to wide long-on. He continued with his swashbuckling innings and remained unbeaten at 200 for Bombay.

#2 Aditya Shrivastava\'s average of 109 in first six games

Shrivastava’s highest score of 169 as of now, has come against Uttar Pradesh

This 22-year old is still an unknown name but if he continues with the form that he is in, he may soon not be that unknown. Aditya Shrivastava has played only six first-class matches, out of which he has centuries in four matches and high scores in others.

The youngster from Madhya Pradesh has been on a roll since January, starting off with 91(first innings) and 108 not out (second innings) against Karnataka, the defending champions of Ranji.

He has backed that up with 151 against Bengal, 169 against Uttar Pradesh, 90 against Tamil Nadu and very recently, 131 and 27 in Round 4 of the ongoing Ranji series against Punjab. He has accumulated 767 runs in 6 matches, averaging at 109.57, turning out to be nothing short of a sensation for Madhya Pradesh.

If that is not crazy, we don’t know what is!

#3 Premangshu Chatterjee\'s 10/20 vs Assam

Chatterjee took all 10 wickets in an innings of a first-class match

Premangshu Chatterjee once took all 10 wickets in an innings of a first-class match. The former Bengal left-arm medium-pacer, recipient of the Kartick Bose Lifetime Achievement Award from the Cricket Association of Bengal in 2005, returned magical figures of 19-11-20-10 in a Ranji Trophy match against Assam in Jorhat in 1956-57.

He was born in Cuttack but he played for Bengal in 26 matches between 1946-47 and 1959-60. He was also the skipper of Bengal in four matches. This remains the best innings return ever achieved in first-class cricket outside the United Kingdom and the third best of all time.

#4 B.B. Nimbalkar 443 vs Kathiawar

Nimbalkar’s 443 is the highest individual score in the Ranji Trophy

Bhausaheb Babasaheb Nimbalkar is known throughout the cricketing world for his feat of scoring 443 not out for Maharashtra against Kathiawar in a Ranji Trophy match at Pune in 1948-49. That mammoth innings - still the fourth highest in first class cricket all over the world- remains the undisputed highlight of his career.

This wicket-keeper batsman was headed towards Don Bradman’s 452, the world record but as Kathiawar forfeited the match, he was stranded at 443, nine short of the world record.

Nimbalkar had batted for 494 minutes and had hit 49 fours and a six in his unbelievable knock of 443.

#5 Utpal Chatterjee\'s 52 wickets in eight matches

Chatterjee took 52 wickets in 8 matches in Ranji

This mighty spinner from Bengal had been their go-to bowler for years. One of the frontline spinners in the country, who had also played three matches for India, had his most prolific run in the 1999-2000 Ranji season.

The slow left-arm spinner was in the form of his life when he took 52 wickets in 8 matches at a staggering average of 6.5, in the 1999-2000 Ranji Trophy. He set a new Bengal record, and began getting closer to the 300-wicket mark in the tournament. He grabbed 5 wickets in an innings 6 times and got 10 wickets in a match twice.

#6 Rajinder Goel\'s 750 wickets in 157 matches

Rajinder Goel is the holder of 750 domestic wickets in only 157 matches

Rajinder Goel was an aceslow bowler whose career got steam-rolled thanks to the spin quartet of India. TheIndian spin quartetis the collective name given to the slow bowlers of1960s and 70s: ErapalliPrasannaand SrinivasVenkataraghavan(both off-spinners),Bhagwat Chandrasekhar(a leg spinner), andBishen Singh Bedi(a left-arm spinner).

This slow left-arm spinner, who represented Haryana in the domestic cricket featured in just one unofficial Test against Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), but could never wriggle into the Indian Test squad.

Goel has some mind-boggling stats. He claimed750 wickets at an incredible average of 18.58 and a staggeringeconomy rate of 2.10 in 157 matches. He was a serioustweaker of the ball andseldom erred in line and length.

#7 Bandeep Singh hits fastest 50

Bandeep Singh has hit the fastest 50 in Ranji Trophy in only 15 balls

Jammu-Kashmir batsman Bandeep Singh etched his name in the record books byhitting the fastest half-century in the ongoing 2015-16 Ranji Trophy cricket tournament against Tripura.Singhs cameo knock came in just 15 balls, beating the previous record of 18 deliveries.

His cameo included 6 boundaries and 4 huge sixes.The 26-year olds heroics came into light in the second innings, when Jammu & Kashmir had obtained a healthyfirst innings lead of 204 runs. As he reached the landmark in mere 15 balls, it helpedto push his team to a score of 163-3, before the captain decided to declare their innings, setting the hosts an unlikely target of 368 runs to win.

#8 Vijay Merchant\'s batting average of 98.75

Vijay Merchant (on the left) seen with Laxmidas Jai averaged 98.75 as a batsman for Bombay

The man whose first-class batting average is second only to Don Bradman, Vijay Merchant, is widely regarded as one of the best batsmen India have ever produced.He started his Test career as a middle-order batsman but soon took over the opening role and played at that position till the end of his career.

Merchant had an unbelievable Ranji. In 47 Ranji innings for Bombay, he made 3639 runs at an absurd average of 98.75. On In 16 of those 47 innings, he made a hundred or a hundred-plus score.

Not only was Merchant one of the earliest proponentsof the Bombay School of Batsmanship, that placed more importance on right technique, steely temperament, and conservative approach rather than free flow of the bat, he was a genius with outrageous statistics.