Ranji Trophy 2016-17 - Our favourite moments

Gokul Gopal - The return and rise of K Gowtham

Before the start of the 2016-17 Ranji season, K Gowtham, who had last featured in a first-class game in January 2013, was recalled to the Karnataka side. The offspinner, who had conceded 206 runs in the quarters against Saurashtra - the same game in which Cheteshwar Pujara scored 352 to knock Karnataka out of the competition - made his comeback on the the back of some good shows in the local state tournaments. But the question remained whether he would be an effective bowling option for Karnataka. With the presence of Shreyas Gopal, the lead spinner in the team, and with the neutral venue concept being introduced, it remained to be seen if Gowtham, if selected at all, could make an impact. At the end of the Ranji season, all those doubts were put to rest.

With important spells that helped Karnataka march forward in the competition, the 28-year-old finished as the third-highest wicket-taker of the team, behind S Aravind and R Vinay Kumar. That he did not figure in the eleven in the all important quarter-final against Tamil Nadu was because the pitch was a pace-friendly wicket, which meant that Karnataka had to reinforce their line-up with pacers and allrounders. Would he have made a difference had he been selected is a debatable question, but he would definitely have offered a lot of control, considering his accuracy, consistency and the ability to turn the game on its head - the game against Saurashtra being a case in point.

One of the reasons for Karnataka's exit, according to the skipper, was his team's inability to finish at the top of the table at the end of the group stage. After a dominating start to the season, they ended up losing to Saurashtra, who were winless in the season until then and were languishing at the bottom of the table before they managed to prevent relegation with a victory against Karnataka. The victory, however, did not come easy as Gowtham, in the company of Abrar Kazi, gave the Saurashtra dressing room some tense moments.

Set a target of only 58 on a wicket that was offering help to the spinners, those present at the ground were of the opinion that the match would be over in a jiffy. Saurashtra, however, made a mountain out of a molehill, and the instigator of that was Gowtham, who triggered a top-order collapse. Picking up four wickets in quick succession, Gowtham had the opposition reeling at 36 for 6, but a composed Prerak Mankad, who had scored a century in the first innings, bailed his team out of trouble again. A few extra runs when Karnataka batted in their second innings could have made a difference but a nine-run over from Gopal played a big part in the pressure being eased. Ironically, when Tamil Nadu were under some pressure in a chase of 87, it was Gopal again who came for a lot of stick as Dinesh Karthik took Tamil Nadu into the semi-final. Sadly for Karnataka, there was no Gowtham to help them attempt a fightback.

Narbavie R - One bad day

Can one bad day in the office derail your entire campaign? Of course it can! Ask Maharashtra about that fateful day in Wayanad where they were bowled out twice shockingly to lose the match. Odisha had put in some fine performances in the season but needed a win badly to be in contention for a quarter-final berth. Maharashtra, alongside Jharkhand and Karnataka were poised to make it to the knockouts at that point in time. They had momentum on their side as well going into the contest as they had won their previous two games by an innings margin.

Maharashtra were clearly the favourites going into the contest despite Kedar Jadhav's absence. They had the likes of Swapnil Gugale and Ankit Bawane, who had broken the record for the highest partnership in Ranji Trophy history earlier in the season, apart from the then-leading wicket-taker in the tournament, Anupam Sanklecha. But on a pitch that had something in it for the seamers and also behaved uneven at times, the much-fancied outfit failed to deliver. Odisha's Biplab Samantray stood out from the pack to defy Maharashtra and help Odisha post more than 300 on the board.

But what unfurled on the second day was something that no one anticipated. After getting bowled out for just 94 in the first innings, Odisha asked Maharashtra to follow on and fetched 10 wickets yet again before stumps to deliver a morale-crushing blow. Maharashtra failed to recover from the heartbreaking loss and eventually succumbed under pressure in their final must-win league game against Karnataka to lose by 10 wickets. One bad day indeed put the brakes on one's hopes and injected spark into another.

Aayush Puthran - No timepass for Mumbai

In the Group A match between Mumbai and Madhya Pradesh, the defending champions were looking to overhaul the total of 445 to gain the first innings lead. It was a slow wicket with no assistance for bowlers. On the final day, at Lunch, Mumbai were around 50-odd runs behind the mark. All the players were done with their lunch, except a few reserve players and a member of the support staff, who were busy with other work and had to come in late for Lunch. It's often a practice among most teams that the players who come in late, and have no role to play in the match, finish their lunch after the session begins. But, for Mumbai the role of their reserve players and support staff is slightly differently.

A furious Aditya Tare, Mumbai captain, entered the dining hall and in a stern voice said, "Boss, yaha pe timepass karne aaye ho kya, $%&*&? Session shuru ho gaya hai. Plate uthao aur chalo cheer karne chalo. (Have you come here to relax? The session has started. Pick up your plates and come out to cheer your teammates)"

Tare later explained that situation and said how Mumbai takes the 'cheering factor' seriously, and how everyone involved in a team has a role to play. No compromises when it came to yielding the best results out of the team for Mumbai.

Pradeep K - The captain has his way

A place in the semi-finals up for grabs and on a wicket that looked damp, Gujarat captain, Parthiv Patel, lost the crucial toss to Odisha and was asked to take first strike. Worse was to follow as he saw both openers fall leaving the task of getting the crucial first-innings runs on himself. With the pitch still playing tricks, the onus was on Gujarat's star batsman to steady the ship. He started in a fidgety manner, playing and missing, the occasional square-cuts made an appearance and Gujarat had started showing signs of recovery.

However, things changed dramatically in the 17th over of the innings. Parthiv was struck flush on his right-arm from a ball that bounced in an uneven fashion. Having copped the blow, the Gujarat captain decided to take matters into his own hands. He wasn't going to let his team suffer on what his coach later termed as a 'wet wicket'.

The Gujarat captain, fresh from his stint with the Indian national team, lost no time in complaining about the conditions to the two on-field umpires, Yeshwant Barde and CK Nandan, and cajoled them into taking the players off the field. An early lunch was called for and the pitch was rolled once again during the break. An inspection followed and play finally began more than an hour after it had been stopped. Was the pitch that unplayable? Did Parthiv's reputation as an international player take precedence? Or was it just a case of the umpire's and the match officials just being unable to handle the situation?

Having been spoken to extensively by the match officials, it was sporting on the part of Odisha captain Govinda Poddar to halt play when his team seemed to be right on top of the proceedings. In hindsight, the stoppage of play wasn't the reason for Odisha's exit from this season's Ranji Trophy, but it was enough to make headlines and further damage the credentials of a cricket stadium and its association that has made headlines for all the wrong reasons so far.

Akash Sarkar - RCA ground staff goes the extra mile

When the concept of neutral venues was proposed, one of the many objections it faced was that it'll drive away the fans. Throughout the tournament, it not only saw deserted stands, it also saw zero attendance from the media.

So when the fans did take time to come and watch the game, it was important for the state associations to make them feel welcome. During the Uttar Pradesh vs Bengal clash in Jaipur, the Rajasthan Cricket Association ground staff went out of their way to ensure fans didn't feel left out.

On each of the four days, the few fans who turned up, were provided with food boxes and water bottles. An hour before Lunch, they would take a head count of the number of food boxes needed and every single day they would go and get the additional few boxes.

No RCA official had come and had a word with them to do this. All of this was done because they wanted the fans feel welcomed. These three members of the ground staff are assigned the duty of catering to the umpires. They could have done their job and gone away, but they chose to, in their little way, promote domestic cricket and make the fans feel welcomed.

Ajjith Chowdhary (fan entry) - Jharkhand's maiden semi-final appearanceOne of my favourite Ranji stories this season was Jharkhand entering the semi-finals. At the start of season no one could have thought they could reach the semis. The self belief and dedication of players and the team management was quite evident right from start of the season. MS Dhoni being their mentor had a great impact on the players. Although they lost to Gujarat in semi-finals, till day 3, they were on top of their game. Maybe the inability to handle the pressure let the team down. The stand-out players for me personally were Ishan Kishan, Ishank Jaggi and Shahbaz Nadeem. Ishan's 273 against Delhi, Ishank's knocks in crucial games and Nadeem's spin were a real treat to watch. I am quite sure in the coming seasons, they will be a team to beat.

Were you at any of the games? Or perhaps followed one closely on TV or the Internet? Write to us with your favourite 'Ranji Moment' and if it's good enough, we promise it'll be up here. All submissions should be sent to submissions@cricbuzz.com