Kerala rattled the Maharashtra top order in the first game of the Ranji Trophy 2025-26, being played at the Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram. Kerala captain Mohammed Azharudeen won the toss and chose to field first.

MD Nideesh and Nedumankuzhy Basil tore into the Maharashtra batting as Prithvi Shaw, who moved from Mumbai, seeking a fresh start, was out for a four-ball duck. Kerala’s seamer MD Nidheesh struck early, dismissing Shaw lbw in the first over before removing Siddhesh Veer off the next ball.

Then Basil struck with his first ball, dismissing Arshin Kulkarni, and later dismissed captain Ankeet Bawne with a short delivery that clean bowled him. This left Maharashtra reeling at 5/4 in four overs. Saurabh Nawale was then dismissed LBW by Nideesh for 12 runs.

However, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Jalaj Saxena then brought the team to recovery, and Maharashtra got to lunch at 81/5. Gaikwad is unbeaten on 35 in 66 balls with four fours, while Saxena has 29* in 54 balls with three fours.  

Prithvi Shaw had come into this game with a huge score of 180-plus in the warm-up game against Mumbai in Pune. Shaw's move to Maharashtra was a significant step forward after a difficult spell that included going unsold at the IPL 2025 auction and facing questions about his form and fitness.

Shaw demonstrated early potential for his new team by making a century against Chhattisgarh in the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament in August.

For the 2025/26 season, Maharashtra has been assigned to Group B against strong challengers such as last season's runners-up Kerala, Saurashtra, Chandigarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, and Goa.

(Times of India inputs)