Hyderabad batsman Rahul Singh Gahlaut became the first batsman to hit a double century in this season of the Ranji Trophy 2023-24 against Nagaland. On the opening day of India’s premier domestic tournament, Rahul smashed a brilliant 214 off 157 deliveries, and his knock was stitched with nine sixes and 23 boundaries.Rahul, who earlier played for Services, hammered the second fastest First-Class century off 143 balls, reaching the milestone with a six. It was his first Ranji Trophy appearance for Hyderabad. Ravi Shastri’s 123-ball double century for Bombay against Baroda at the Wankhede stadium still holds the Indian record.
The top two teams from each of the four groups in the Elite division will enter the quarterfinals after playing a total of seven games each whereas the two teams that will finish at the bottom of in each group will be relegated. On the other hand, the top four teams in the Plate competition will qualify for the knockouts and the finalists will be promoted to the Elite division in the next edition. The Elite division will be played across 48 venues in the country whereas the Plate competition will be contested at five venues. The Elite final will be staged from March 10 and the summit clash in the Plate category will be played from February 17 onwards. The defending champions Saurashtra find themselves in Group A alongside Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Manipur, Rajasthan, Services, and Vidarbha whereas Bengal, who finished as the runners-up in the previous season have been placed in Group B along with Andhra, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Mumbai, and Uttar Pradesh.
