Mumbai pacer Tushar Deshpande ran riot with a hat-trick against Chandigarh on Day 2 of the opening round of Ranji Trophy 2026-27. Deshpande bagged a five-wicket haul as Chandigarh were bundled out for 79 in 19.1 overs at Wankhede Stadium on October 12. He became the first bowler to take a hat-trick in Ranji Trophy history at Wankhede Stadium. He is also the sixth Mumbai pacer to achieve the feat in Ranji Trophy across venues.
Replying to Mumbai's score of 429, Chandigarh lost early wickets. In the fourth over, Deshpande knocked over Arslan Khan for a single-digit score. It was in the 11th over that he bagged a hat-trick. He knocked over Shivam Bhambri and Dipender Kush off consecutive deliveries to complete his maiden first-class hat-trick.
In the next over, Chandigarh captain Manan Vohra was knocked over by Sylvester DSouza. Deshpande completed his fifer by trapping Raj Bawa in front of the wickets. Mohit Avasthi joined the party with the wicket of Vishu Kashyap. Chandigarh lost seven wickets for 37 runs. Nishunk Birla's 15-ball 33 cameo helped Chandigarh post 78. DSouza took another wicket while Avasthi bagged three as Chandigarh were bowled out for 78. Deshpande bowled seven overs including a maiden, conceded 17 runs and took five wickets.
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Deshpande sends message to selectors
Deshpande has cranked up his pace. He has continued to prove that he is not just a T20 bowler, a format where he made a name for himself in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and then made his debut for a second-string squad on Zimbabwe tour in 2024. He hasn’t played another game for India since. However, he was recently picked in India A’s squad for two-unofficial Test series against Australia A. He bagged five wickets in the first game and remained wicketless in the second. But, in the second game, he contributed with a half-century.
List of Mumbai bowlers with hat-trick in Ranji Trophy
In the 1943/44 season, off-spinner Jehangir Khot claimed a hat-trick against Baroda. Almost a decade later in 1963/64 season, left-arm pacer Umesh Kulkarni claimed a hat-trick against Gujarat. Kulkarni went on to play four Tests for India and bagged five wickets. Pacer Abdul Ismail became the third to achieve the feat. He did it against Saurashtra in 1973/74 season.
For decades, Mumbai bowlers couldn't register a hat-trick in Ranji Trophy while the team dominated. The next hat-trick was bagged by left-arm pacer Royston Dias who took a hat-trick against Bihar in 2023/24 season. In the 2024/25 season, Shardul Thakur joined the list with a hat-trick against Meghalaya. Thakur is the most prominent bowler on the list. Thakur has played 13 Tests, 47 ODIs and 25 T20Is for India already. He is current captain of Mumbai as well but ruled out of first two games due to injury.
Deshpande misses fifty
Mumbai were 249/5 at the end of Day 1's play. Early in the day, stand-in skipper Siddhesh Lad was knocked over by Raj Bawa as he missed his century. Lad scored 86 runs from 192 balls including nine fours. Bawa dismissed Shams Mulani as well. The all-rounder scored 39 runs from 68 balls.
Deshpande arrived at the crease when Mumbai were 271/7 in the first session of Day 2. He did not take much time to settle and hit Jagjit Singh for two fours in the next over. In Jagjit's next over, he smashed a six. He hit a six off Birla as well. After four quiet overs, Bawa came back into the attack and dismissed Deshpande. He scored 44 runs from 47 deliveries. When he departed, Mumbai were 342/8.
Kotian, Avasthi frustrate Chandigarh
Chandigarh could not mop up the tail quickly. At lunch break, Mumbai were 374/8 with Kotian and Avasthi well-settled. In the 121st over, Kotian reached his half-century from 77 balls. The ninth-wicket partnership was broken by Rohit Dhanda in the 129th over. Kotian lost his wicket for a 91-ball 58 featuring five fours. Avasthi reached his half-century from 109 balls. Bawa took his fourth wicket as Mumbai were bowled out for 429. DSouza was dismissed for a single. Avasthi remained unbeaten for 56 off 119 balls including six fours and a couple of sixes.
Chandigarh face certain defeat
After getting bowled out for 78, Chandigarh were trailing by 351 runs. Mumbai skipper Lad enforced follow-on towards the end of Day 2's play. Kashyap walked out to open instead of Arslan alongside Arjun Azad. But, the ploy didn't work as Kashyap was knocked for a three-ball duck by Deshpande. Only one over was bowled and Chandigarh lost one wicket and did not add a run to their total.
On Day 3, they have an uphill task ahead of them. They need to score 351 runs to avoid a defeat by an innings. It will be interesting to see how Deshpande performs with the new ball in the first session of Day 3. Mumbai are expected to register a big feat to open their campaign.
In the previous edition, the 42-time Ranji Trophy title-winning Mumbai were knocked out at the quarter-final stage by Karnataka.
Deshpande’s wait to continue?
Currently, Deshpande is not a part of India A's squad for three-match series against New Zealand A. The pacers in the squad are Auqib Nabi, Akash Deep, Anshul Kamboj, Mukesh Choudhary and Mukesh Kumar. Deshpande may have to wait for a chance for maiden Test call-up. He may be called up to New Zealand midway through the India A series.
Deshpande's first-class record
Before the ongoing match against Chandigarh, he had played 104 first-class games and taken 316 wickets at an average of 24.81 including 15 fifers. Now, he has 16 fifers in first-class cricket.
He has proved himself to be a handy batter down the order. The 34-year-old has 2,828 runs from 146 innings at an average of 20.64. He has two centuries and 18 half-centuries in the format.
Mumbai vs Chandigarh playing XI -
Mumbai: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ayush Mhatre, Siddhesh Lad (c), Sarfaraz Khan, Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Tushar Deshpande, Akash Anand (wk), Musheer Khan, Mohit Avasthi, Sylvester Dsouza
Chandigarh: Manan Vohra (c), Arslan Khan, Akshit Rana (wk), Arjun Azad, Shivam Bhambri, Raj Bawa, Dipender Kush, Jagjit Singh, Vishu Kashyap, Nishunk Birla, Rohit Dhanda.