Cricket tournaments - Domestic seasons and tournaments

Cricket tournaments - Domestic seasons and tournaments

Duleep Trophy - Historical Note

The Duleep Trophy competition was started by the Board of Control for Cricket in India in 1961-62 with the aim of providing a greater competitive edge in domestic cricket - because, apart from the knock-out stages of the Ranji Trophy, that competition proved predictable, with Bombay winning for fifteen consecutive years. The Duleep was also meant to help the selectors in as- sessing form.

The original format was that five teams, drawn from the five zones, play each other on a knock-out basis. From the 1993-94 season, the competition has been converted to a league format.

Ranji Trophy - Historical Note

Founded as 'The Cricket Championship of India' at a meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India in July 1934. The first Ranji Trophy fixtures took place in the 1934-35 season. The Trophy was donated by H.H. Sir Bhupendra Singh Mahinder Baha- dur, Maharajah of Patiala in memory of His late Highness Sir Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji of Nawanagar.

In the main the Ranji Trophy is composed of teams representing the states that make up India. As the political states have mul- tiplied, so have cricket teams, but not every state has a team. Some states have more than one cricket team, e.g. Maharashtra and Gujarat. There are also 'odd' teams like Railways, and Services representing the armed forces.

The various teams are grouped into zones - North, West, East, Central and South - and the initial matches are played on a league basis within the zones. The top two (till 1991-92), now top three teams from each zone then play in a national knock-out competition. If the matches are not finished they are decided on the first-innings lead.