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Fast bowler Rohit Sharma made an impressive return to Ranji Trophy taking a five-wicket haul for defending champions Jammu and Kashmir on the opening day.
Rohit Sharma has played 22 first-class matches so far in his career. (Picture Credit: IG/rohit.sharma09)
Defending champions Jammu and Kashmir began their Ranji Trophy 2026-27 campaign in style, bowling out Madhya Pradesh for 196 on Day 1 of their season opener at the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium in Srinagar on Sunday. J&K created history by winning their first ever Ranji Trophy title earlier this year.
However, the hero of the day for J&K was someone who played his first Ranji Trophy match for the team in nearly two years.
Fast bowler Rohit Sharma took a five-wicket haul on his Ranji Trophy comeback, finishing with bowling figures of 5/36 in 21.2 overs. The 32-year-old is playing in his first match since October 2024 when he went wicketless against Services.
Prior to the MP clash, the right-hand pacer has played in 22 first-class matches and taken 39 wickets in them while averaging 34.66. This is his second five-wicket haul of FC career.
Rohit has also played 8 List A games and five T20s as well, taking a combined 8 wickets in them – none of them in the shortest format.
He was also named in J&K’s Irani Cup squad but didn’t make the cut in their playing XI as Rest of India secured a massive 167-run win in Srinagar earlier this month.
Rohit-Sunil Dismantle MP
Rohit combined with left-arm pacer Sunil Kumar to bowl MP out in 74.2 overs after J&K captain Paras Dogra opted to bowl first. Sunil took a four-fer, finishing with 4/69 from 23 overs.
Auqib Nabi, who recently made his international debut, took one wicket in 20 overs.
For MP, captain Shubham Sharma top-scored with 79 off 174 while the next best score came from the bat of No. 8 Aryan Pandey who made 35 off 60.
In reply, right-arm pacer Avesh Khan gave MP an early breakthrough when he had J&K opener Shubham Khajuria LBW for a 10-ball duck.
At the close of play, J&K were 3/1 with Qamran Iqbal (3*) and Vanshaj Sharma (0*) in the middle.
J&K have been placed in Elite Group A alongside MP, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Vidarbha, Goa, Baroda and Puducherry.
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Ask News18Fast bowler Rohit Sharma took a five-wicket haul on his Ranji Trophy comeback, finishing with figures of 5/36 in 21.2 overs.
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Feroz Khan has been covering sports for over 12 years now and is currently working with Network18 as Principal Correspondent. He embarked on his journey in 2011 and has since acquired vast experience …Read More
October 11, 2026, 17:38 IST
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