Top 10 Highest Scores in Ranji Trophy: Top 10 individual scores in Ranji Trophy history
Published on: Jan 11, 2023 10:44 pm IST|Updated on: Jan 11, 2023 10:44 pm IST
Top 10 Highest Scores in Ranji Trophy: Swashbuckling opener Prithvi Shaw threatened to break a 75-year-old record as he plundered 379 runs against Assam at Guwahati today. The Mumbai opener’s score of 379 runs takes him to second position in the list of highest individual scores in Ranji Trophy. So, who holds the record for the highest individual score in Ranji trophy? and who else makes to this elite list?
Here we look at the top ten individual scores in Ranji trophy to find the answers.
Top 10 Highest Scores in Ranji Trophy
Nimbalkar’s 443* tops the list of highest individual score in Ranji Trophy history
Score | Player Name | For Team | Against Team | Year |
443* | B. B. Nimbalkar | Maharashtra | Saurashtra | 1948/49 |
379 | Prithvi Shaw | Mumbai | Assam | 2022/23 |
377 | Sanjay Manjrekar | Bombay | Hyderabad | 1990/91 |
366 | M. V. Sridhar | Hyderabad | Andhra | 1993/94 |
359* | Vijay Merchant | Bombay | Maharashtra | 1943/44 |
359* | Samit Gohel | Gujarat | Odisha | 2016/17 |
353 | VVS Laxman | Hyderabad | Karnataka | 1999/2000 |
352 | Cheteshwar Pujara | Saurashtra | Karnataka | 2012/13 |
351* | Swapnil Gugale | Maharashtra | Delhi | 2016/17 |
343 | Puneet Bisht | Meghalaya | Sikkim | 2018/19 |
As evident from this list, Mumbai (previously known as Bombay) dominates the batting records in Ranji trophy. 4 of the 10 spots are occupied by Mumbai batters including the legendary Sunil Gavaskar and Vijay Merchant.
The curious case of BB Nimbalkar
Heading the list is BB Nimbalkar of Maharashtra who is the only batter in the history of Ranji Trophy to breach the milestone of 400 runs. He produced the masterpiece against Saurashtra in 1948/49 season. His 443* was second to Bradman’s score of 452* at that time and Bradman himself sent a personal note to Nimbalkar stating that he considered Nimbalkar’s innings better than his own.
Despite this Herculean effort and a staggering average of 56.72 in Ranji trophy, Nimbalkar never got a chance to play for India in Tests. And this makes his score of 443* the highest score by a batter not to have played in Test Cricket.
Shaw misses Nimbalkar’s record but makes his case strong
His thunderous innings of 379 runs off 383 balls has brought Shaw back in the talks for a place in the national side. Earmarked as a potential international player, he made giant strides in the year-group cricket and even led India to a U-19 World Cup win.
The opening batter scored a century on India debut but soon lost his mojo and his place in the team. Currently, the likes of Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and KL Rahul are ahead of him for the place of openers in Team India while Mayank Agarwal and Yashaswi Jaiswal are not too far behind.
However, this triple century has not only helped Shaw to register his name in the records book but has also helped him to make a strong claim for a place in India’s Test team.