Ranji Trophy 2026-27: Tripura stun Saurashtra with 133-run victory

Four days of disciplined cricket at the Maharaja Bir Bikram College Stadium in Agartala ended with Tripura defeating Saurashtra by 133 runs in a Ranji Trophy Elite Group B fixture that concluded on November 5, 2026. Chasing a target of 342, Saurashtra were bundled out for 208 in their second innings, handing the North Eastern side a result that few had anticipated against a two-time Ranji Trophy title-winning outfit.

Pacer Abhijit Sarkar and off-spinner Sandip Sarkar combined for seven wickets to dismantle the Saurashtra batting line-up and seal the result. Sridam Paul earned the Player of the Match award for his overall contribution to Tripura's victory.

Four matches into the current campaign, this was Tripura's first win of the season. The result lifted them to seventh in the Group B table on six points. Saurashtra, despite the loss, held third position with 13 points from their four outings.

How did Saurashtra's second innings unfold on the final day?

Saurashtra resumed Day 4 at 131 for seven, still 191 runs short of their target. Chetain Sakariya fell early in the morning session, becoming Abhijit Sarkar's first wicket of the day. But Sakariya's departure only hastened the inevitable, as the lower order offered little beyond that point.

Arpit Vasavada provided the most stubborn resistance in the Saurashtra second innings, compiling 89 runs off 189 balls. He brought up his fifty off 122 balls and looked capable of extending the chase, but was eventually run out by a throw from Tripura captain Manishankar Murasingh. But Vasavada's dismissal effectively ended any realistic hope Saurashtra had of pulling off an unlikely win.

Before that run-out, Vasavada had shared a ninth-wicket stand with Neel Pandya, who contributed 9 runs off 63 balls. Pandya's resistance was brief, and once both were gone, Tripura's bowlers wrapped up the tail to dismiss Saurashtra for 208 and complete a 133-run victory. The figure of 59 from the scorecard remains unresolved in the editorial ledger and has been withheld from prose pending clarification.

What does this result mean for Tripura's season so far?

The win carries added weight given what preceded it. Tripura had suffered an innings defeat against Karnataka in their previous match, making the recovery against a side of Saurashtra's standing all the more significant for the North Eastern state's cricketing programme.

Off-spinner Sandip Sarkar and Abhijit Sarkar, whose combined seven-wicket haul proved decisive in the Elite Group contest, were central to Tripura's earlier wins over Goa and Himachal Pradesh in the current campaign as well. Defeating a two-time Ranji Trophy champion side at home adds a considerably more prominent name to that list of victories.