The 2019 edition of Ranji Trophy went underway on Monday (November 9) and all the teams must be geared up to add the trophy in their cabinet. The tournament is also a great opportunity for many International players to pack a punch and prepare well for India’s next Test series against New Zealand in January next year. Several Test regulars like Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja are participating in ongoing India vs West Indies T20I series whereas the likes of Ajinkya Rahane and Ravichandran Ashwin will be seen in action the First-Class tournament in order to polish their skills. Live Cricket Streaming of Ranji Trophy 2019-20 on Hotstar and Star Sports.

Starting from Rahane, the Indian Test captain is playing for Mumbai and scored 79 runs against Baroda in the side’s first match. In the same clash, opener Prithvi Shaw also played a blistering knock and scored a quick-fire 66. Well, the duo of Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agrawal have crashed a flurry of records in India’s last two-Test series against Bangladesh and South Africa. So, Shaw surely needs some mammoth scores to make his way to the side. Cheteshwar Pujara Joins Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane in Elite List of Active Indian Players With 50 Catches in Test Cricket.

Talking about India’s modern-day wall, Cheteshwar Pujara looked rusty in Saurashtra’s first match against Himachal and could manage only two runs. After a power-packed performance against Australia, earlier this year, Pujara didn’t fire in his recent outings and will look to regain form before the Kiwi challenge. Another Indian Test star who featured in Ranji Trophy was Ravichandran Ashwin, who is playing for Tamil Nadu and has taken a solitary wicket in the Day 1 against Karnataka and will look to turn the tables around in the second day.

In the Karnataka vs Tamil Nadu clash, Mayank Agarwal scored 43 runs in the first innings and the Karnataka side will expect a better show from him in the upcoming games. So, the first day of Ranji Trophy 2019-20  witnessed a mixed show from the Indian regulars and all of them will want to put up an even better show in their upcoming assignments. On the other hand, several young stars like Devdutt Pallikal and Shubhman Gill will look to outplay the veterans and make their way for the New Zealand Tour.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 09, 2019 04:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).