Thimmappiah memorial tournament

Thimmappiah Memorial Tournament: With the Ranji Trophy starting from October 11, 38 teams will be back to the quest of lifting the prestigious first-class trophy, albeit in two phases. Akshay Darekar, chief selector of the Maharashtra senior men's team, said the goal for his team is to try and strive hard for lifting a trophy in this domestic season.

With India opener Ruturaj Gaikwad at the helm as the skipper, Maharashtra will begin its Elite Group A campaign against Jammu & Kashmir in Srinagar, followed by facing off against Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai. Maharashtra has won Ranji Trophy twice – the last instance of its win coming in 1941, apart from three runners-up finishes.

The last season’s Ranji Trophy saw Maharashtra play a whopping 27 players in seven games. In the absence of a settled and firing playing competition, they couldn’t enter the knockouts, finishing with 12 points coming off a win, three losses, and three draws.