The just concluded Ranji Trophy competition has seen the emergence of several young talented players, chief among them are Gautam Gambhir, who heads the runs tally scoring 833 runs in 8 matches, Ambati Rayudu, who scored 698 runs in 7 matches and Lakshapathy Balaji, who was the most succesful bowler with 47 wickets.
But it was not just the youngsters who did all the talking. Sunil Joshi (47 wickets at an average of 14.46) and Hrishikesh Kanitkar (734 runs in 5 matches) led the charge of the veteran brigade.
A complete statistical review of the Ranji season follows:
Highest team totals| Totals | For | vs | Venue | Start date |
| 653 - 6d | MAH | BIH | Dhanbad | 28/12/2002 |
| 607 - 9d | KAR | VID | Nagpur | 27/01/2003 |
| 598 - 3d | KAR | J&K | Bangalore | 27/11/2002 |
| 589 - 5d | ORI | GUJ | Ahmedabad | 01/02/2003 |
| 562 - 7d | MPR | J&K | Indore | 28/12/2002 |
Lowest team totals
| Totals | For | vs | Venue | Start date |
| 68 | MPR | HAR | Rohtak | 09/11/2002 |
| 97 | AND | DEL | Delhi FSK | 19/12/2002 |
| 98 | MUM | HYD | Secunderabad | 09/11/2002 |
| Batsman | Score | For | vs | Venue | Start date |
| HH Kanitkar | 290 | MAH | BIH | Dhanbad | 28/12/2002 |
| S Sriram | 267 | TND | PUN | Mohali | 01/02/2003 |
| MH Parmar | 247 | GUJ | ASM | Valsad | 17/11/2002 |
| Yashpal Singh | 240 | SER | TRI | Delhi Palam | 12/11/2002 |
| BM Rowland | 237* | KAR | J&K | Bangalore | 27/11/2002 |
| AR Khurasiya | 237 | MPR | MAH | Indore | 17/11/2002 |
| G Gambhir | 233* | DEL | RLY | Delhi FSK | 09/11/2002 |
| P Dharmani | 230* | PUN | GUJ | Ahmedabad | 25/01/2003 |
| S Somasunder | 222 | KER | TRI | Kochi | 27/11/2002 |
| AT Rayudu | 210 | HYD | AND | Secunderabad | 17/11/2002 |
| Ashwani Gupta | 203* | J&K | BIH | Jamshedpur | 09/11/2002 |
Leading run-getters
| Batsman | Team | M | I | NO | Runs | HS | Avg | 100 | 50 |
| G Gambhir | Del | 8 | 12 | 1 | 833 | 233* | 75.72 | 3 | 1 |
| HH Kanitkar | Mah | 5 | 9 | 0 | 734 | 290 | 81.55 | 2 | 4 |
| AT Rayudu | Hyd | 7 | 12 | 2 | 698 | 210 | 69.80 | 3 | 2 |
| AV Kale | Mah | 5 | 9 | 1 | 683 | 150 | 85.37 | 4 | 1 |
| M Manhas | Del | 8 | 12 | 0 | 674 | 158 | 56.16 | 3 | 2 |
| W Jaffer | Mum | 9 | 16 | 3 | 666 | 117 | 51.23 | 2 | 2 |
| Yashpal Singh | Ser | 5 | 9 | 1 | 659 | 240 | 82.37 | 2 | 3 |
| S Sriram | TN | 8 | 12 | 1 | 641 | 267 | 58.27 | 2 | 1 |
| DS Manohar | Hyd | 7 | 14 | 2 | 633 | 119 | 52.75 | 3 | 2 |
| AR Khurasiya | MP | 6 | 10 | 0 | 630 | 237 | 63.00 | 2 | 3 |
| SS Parab | Bar | 7 | 11 | 0 | 626 | 141 | 56.90 | 3 | 2 |
| MH Parmar | Guj | 6 | 9 | 0 | 619 | 247 | 68.77 | 1 | 4 |
| AA Pagnis | Rlys | 7 | 12 | 1 | 619 | 116 | 56.27 | 2 | 3 |
| KR Powar | Asm | 6 | 8 | 0 | 618 | 175 | 77.25 | 2 | 3 |
| VST Naidu | Kar | 7 | 10 | 2 | 612 | 167* | 76.50 | 1 | 5 |
| S Somasunder | Ker | 7 | 12 | 0 | 612 | 222 | 51.00 | 2 | 2 |
Best partnerships for each wicket
| Wicket | Batsmen | Runs | For | vs | Venue | Start date |
| 1 | 211 | A Chopra/G Gambhir | DEL | HPR | Delhi FSK | 27/11/2002 |
| 2 | 234 | DS Manohar/A Nand Kishore | HYD | BEN | Secunderabad | 19/12/2002 |
| 3 | 336 | G Gambhir/M Manhas | DEL | RLY | Delhi FSK | 09/11/2002 |
| 4 | 281* | BM Rowland/VST Naidu | KAR | J&K | Bangalore | 27/11/2002 |
| 5 | 245 | A Raja Ali/Abhay Sharma | RLY | AND | Vijayawada | 28/12/2002 |
| 6 | 181 | GK Pandey/N Chopra | UPR | TND | Chennai MAC | 27/11/2002 |
| 181 | DA Chougule/SB Joshi | KAR | VID | Nagpur | 27/01/2003 | |
| 7 | 190 | TB Arothe/NR Mongia | BAR | UPR | Varanasi | 25/01/2003 |
| 8 | 268 | S Sriram/MR Shrinivas | TND | PUN | Mohali | 01/02/2003 |
| 9 | 168 | S Narwal/D Bhagna | HAR | BIH | Gurgaon | 19/12/2002 |
| 10 | 101 | R Elahi/R Mishra | UPR | BAR | Varanasi | 25/01/2003 |
Best bowling (in an innings)
| Bowler | Best | For | vs | Venue | Start date |
| F Shaikh | 9-29 | GOA | SER | Delhi Palam | 28/12/2002 |
| MV Sane | 8-43 | MAH | J&K | Pune DG | 19/12/2002 |
| F Shaikh | 8-111 | GOA | VID | Nagpur | 27/11/2002 |
| KS Sahabuddin | 7-35 | AND | DEL | Delhi FSK | 19/12/2002 |
| D Ganesh | 7-36 | KAR | HAR | Faridabad | 28/12/2002 |
| KNA Padmanabhan | 7-39 | KER | TRI | Kochi | 27/11/2002 |
| JP Jobanputra | 7-83 | SAU | GOA | Rajkot | 19/12/2002 |
Best bowling (in a match)
| Bowler | Best | For | vs | Venue | Start date |
| D Ganesh | 12-89 | KAR | HAR | Faridabad | 28/12/2002 |
| Sunil B Joshi | 12-137 | KAR | KER | Bangalore | 04/03/2003 |
Leading wicket-takers
| Bowlers | Team | M | Balls | Runs | W | Avg | Best | 5WI | 10WI | SR |
| L Balaji | TN | 7 | 1580 | 668 | 47 | 14.21 | 6-26 | 7 | 3 | 33.61 |
| Sunil B Joshi | Kar | 7 | 2067 | 680 | 47 | 14.46 | 6-62 | 4 | 1 | 43.97 |
| ND Hirwani | MP | 6 | 1779 | 678 | 45 | 15.06 | 6-89 | 4 | 1 | 39.53 |
| A Bhandari | Del | 8 | 1605 | 884 | 45 | 19.64 | 6-73 | 3 | 1 | 35.66 |
| SV Bahutule | Mum | 9 | 1818 | 679 | 40 | 16.97 | 6-67 | 3 | - | 45.45 |
| KNA Padmanabhan | Ker | 7 | 1237 | 518 | 38 | 13.63 | 7-39 | 4 | 1 | 32.55 |
| F Shaikh | Goa | 5 | 1755 | 714 | 35 | 20.40 | 9-29 | 3 | 1 | 50.14 |
| RJ Kanwat | Raj | 7 | 1554 | 670 | 33 | 20.30 | 5-37 | 3 | - | 47.09 |
| Amit Mishra | Har | 5 | 1191 | 614 | 32 | 19.18 | 6-86 | 1 | 1 | 37.21 |
| PV Gandhe | Vid | 6 | 1821 | 648 | 32 | 20.25 | 5-33 | 3 | 1 | 56.90 |
| D Ganesh | Kar | 7 | 1364 | 740 | 31 | 23.87 | 7-36 | 2 | 1 | 44.00 |
| M Acharya | Vid | 6 | 1571 | 742 | 30 | 24.73 | 5-84 | 1 | - | 52.36 |
Most dismissals by a keeper (in an innings)
| Player | Dism | Ct | St | For | vs | Venue | Date |
| TR Arasu | 6 | 6 | 0 | GOA | SAU | Rajkot | 19/12/2002 |
| V Dahiya | 6 | 6 | 0 | DEL | RAJ | Jaipur | 28/12/2002 |
Most dismissals by a keeper (in a match)
| Player | Dism | Ct | St | For | vs | Venue | Date |
| TR Arasu | 8 | 7 | 1 | GOA | SAU | Rajkot | 19/12/2002 |
| I Khaleel | 8 | 7 | 1 | HYD | MUM | Secunderabad | 09/11/2002 |
Leading wicket-keepers
| Name | Team | Dism | Ct | St | Mts |
| VST Naidu | Kar | 29 | 25 | 4 | 7 |
| RB Jhalani | Raj | 28 | 27 | 1 | 7 |
| P Dharmani | Pun | 26 | 26 | 0 | 6 |
| I Khaleel | Hyd | 26 | 24 | 2 | 7 |
Most catches by a fielder (in an innings)
| Fielder | Cts | For | vs | Venue | Start date |
| S Abbas Ali | 4 | MPR | HAR | Rohtak | 09/11/2002 |
| NR Odedra | 4 | SAU | KER | Rajkot | 19/11/2002 |
| RS Jadhav | 4 | VID | GOA | Nagpur | 27/11/2002 |
| VR Mane | 4 | MUM | BEN | Mumbai | 28/12/2002 |
Most catches by a fielder (in a match)
| Fielder | Cts | For | vs | Venue | Start date |
| PP Joshi | 5 | SAU | VID | Nagpur | 12/11/2002 |
| Shafiq Khan | 5 | HAR | J&K | Jammu | 17/11/2002 |
| M Sengupta | 5 | BIH | KAR | Ranchi | 17/11/2002 |
| RS Jadhav | 5 | VID | GOA | Nagpur | 27/11/2002 |
| RF Morris | 5 | MUM | AND | Mumbai | 27/11/2002 |
| VR Mane | 5 | MUM | BEN | Mumbai | 28/12/2002 |
Leading fielders
| Player | Team | Cts | Mts |
| VR Mane | Mum | 18 | 9 |
| A Chopra | Del | 15 | 8 |
| SC Oasis | Ker | 14 | 7 |
Leading run scorers in all Indian first-class matches in 2002-03
| Name | Teams | Runs | Mts | Avg |
| W Jaffer | ROI/Mum/EB | 1207 | 14 | 57.47 |
| S Sriram | TD/EA | 1057 | 12 | 66.06 |
| S Somasunder | Ker/PB | 1000 | 11 | 58.82 |
| AA Pagnis | ROI/Rlys/EB | 989 | 12 | 49.45 |
| J Arunkumar | Kar/PB | 942 | 11 | 58.87 |
| Yashpal Singh | Serv/PA | 939 | 9 | 62.60 |
| SS Parab | Bar/EC | 895 | 11 | 55.93 |
| G Gambhir | Del/BP/EA | 893 | 10 | 63.78 |
| HH Kanitkar | Maha/PA | 858 | 9 | 50.47 |
| VST Naidu | Kar/PA | 817 | 11 | 51.06 |
| P Dharmani | Pun/EC | 808 | 10 | 62.15 |
| BM Rowland | Kar/PA | 802 | 11 | 47.17 |
| AV Kale | ROI/Maha/PA | 791 | 7 | 65.91 |
| Venugopal Rao | And/EA | 786 | 11 | 46.23 |
| AT Rayudu | Hyd/EB | 763 | 9 | 58.69 |
| MSK Prasad | And/EB | 754 | 11 | 44.35 |
| VR Mane | Mum/EB | 728 | 13 | 33.09 |
| AR Khurasiya | MP/PB | 717 | 9 | 51.21 |
| Ritesh Jaiswal | Tri/PA | 706 | 9 | 41.52 |
| DS Manohar | Hyd/EA | 700 | 9 | 46.66 |
Leading wicket-takers in all Indian first-class matches in 2002-03
| Name | Teams | Wkts | Mts | Avg |
| ND Hirwani | MP/PB | 79 | 10 | 18.21 |
| SV Bahutule | Mum/EB | 62 | 13 | 17.22 |
| Sunil B Joshi | Kar/PA | 57 | 11 | 19.03 |
| A Bhandari | Del/EC | 55 | 11 | 22.43 |
| L Balaji | TN/BP | 48 | 8 | 15.12 |
| Sarandeep Singh | ROI/BP/Del/EA | 47 | 13 | 32.04 |
| KS Parida | Rlys/EC | 45 | 11 | 30.97 |
| KNA Padmanabhan | Ker/PA | 42 | 9 | 17.11 |
| D Ganesh | Kar/PA | 39 | 11 | 26.20 |
| IK Pathan-jr | ROI/Bar/EA | 39 | 12 | 33.46 |
| F Shaikh | Goa/PA | 38 | 7 | 23.31 |
| RJ Kanwat | Raj/EA | 37 | 11 | 25.16 |
| A Uniyal | Pun/EB | 35 | 9 | 23.62 |
| SK Trivedi | Guj/EC | 33 | 10 | 30.93 |
| S Santh | Ker/PB | 33 | 11 | 28.96 |
| Amit Mishra | BP/Har | 32 | 6 | 22.75 |
| PV Gandhe | Vid | 32 | 6 | 20.25 |
| M Acharya | Vid | 30 | 6 | 24.73 |
| NM Kulkarni | Mum/EC | 30 | 7 | 21.36 |
More from rediff