Karnataka vs Bengal in Ranji Trophy 2025-26 — which team has the edge in form, depth, and championship pedigree?
KL Rahul’s phenomenal knock of 130 runs in the fourth innings completed Karnataka’s successful 325-run chase at the Sharad Pawar Academy in Bandra-Kurla to knock Mumbai out of the Ranji Trophy 2025-26. They will feature in the first semifinal against Uttarakhand, who have qualified for this stage for the very first time.
Meanwhile, Bengal displayed a dominant all-round performance against Andhra Pradesh at the Bengal Cricket Academy Ground in Kalyani. It will be their first semifinal appearance in the Ranji Trophy since they beat Madhya Pradesh in the 2022-23 season. For the current edition, they will face an energetic Jammu and Kashmir on February 15.
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Bengal display all-round dominance to reach Ranji Trophy 2025-26 semifinal
Bengal have dominated this Ranji Trophy 2025-26 from both the batting and bowling aspects. At the Eden Gardens, Mohammad Shami’s seven wickets across the two innings breathed fire against Uttarakhand for their eight-wicket victory. In the very next home clash, Shahbaz Ahmed’s 6-fer in the first innings and Shami’s 5-fer in the second innings bundled out Gujarat under 200 twice in the game.
After a drawn result in their first away game of the season against Tripura, where they didn’t get the first-innings lead either, Bengal needed a special performance. In Surat, twin centuries from Anustup Mazumdar and Sumanta Gupta set the platform for the 2019-20 runners-up. Shahbaz’s 7-56 in the third innings claimed their victory by an innings and 120 runs.
| Opposition | Result and Margin |
| Uttarakhand | Won by 8 wickets |
| Gujarat | Won by 141 runs |
| Tripura | Match Drawn |
| Railways | Won by innings and 120 runs |
| Assam | Match Drawn |
| Services | Won by innings and 46 runs |
| Haryana | Won by 188 runs |
| Andhra Pradesh | Won by innings and 90 runs |
In Kalyani, Bengal missed out on the victory by one wicket against Assam. The visitors ended with 282-9 in 120.4 overs as Shahbaz again bagged four wickets. The Abhimanyu Easwaran-led side reached the quarter-final post their victory against Services by an innings and 46 runs in the last group-stage clash.
The quarter-final was only about the superb knock of their number three batter, Sudip Kumar Gharami. The right-handed batter, who unfortunately missed out on his triple century, played a marathon knock of 299 runs in 596 balls. Andhra Pradesh showed some fight on the fifth day, but that was too little to stop Bengal, which qualified for the semis with an innings and 90-run win.
Gharami is their leading run-getter of the season so far with 651 runs at 54.25, thanks to three fifties and two centuries. In the bowling department, Shahbaz is the fifth leading wicket-taker of the event with 39 scalps at 15.53, acquiring four five-wicket hauls.
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Karnataka thrive on strong top order for successful Ranji Trophy 2025-26
Karnataka experienced a very unfortunate start in the edition where they gave away the first innings lead to Saurashtra in Rajkot. The 34-run stand for the tenth wicket snatched the award from Karnataka in the drawn result. However, against Goa, they earned the vital lead of over 150 runs in the drawn game.
Karnataka finally earned their first victory of the season against Kerala in Thiruvananthapuram. Both Karun Nair and Smaran Ravichandran celebrated double centuries in the first innings before Mohsin Khan grabbed 6-29 in 23.3 overs in their second innings of bowling. Even though their next encounter ended as a draw against Maharashtra in Pune, Karnataka bagged the first-innings lead.
| Opposition | Result and Margin |
| Saurashtra | Match Drawn |
| Goa | Match Drawn |
| Kerala | Won by innings and 164 runs |
| Maharashtra | Match Drawn |
| Chandigarh | Won by innings and 185 runs |
| Madhya Pradesh | Lost by 217 runs |
| Punjab | Won by 5 wickets |
| Mumbai | Won by 4 wickets |
Smaran continued his impressive season with another double century against Chandigarh in Hubli. Later, Shreyas Gopal’s 7-73 in the first innings and Mohsin’s 5-61 in the second innings recorded their innings and 185 runs victory. However, their two successive dismal batting performances, putting under 200 against Madhya Pradesh, handed them a massive 217-run defeat.
That saw the Karnataka Cricket Association (KCA) handing over the leadership to Devdutt Padikkal as KL Rahul returned to the playing field ahead of their crucial game against Punjab. Despite bowling brilliantly in that contest, they had to chase a 250+ score in two sessions. And the newly appointed leader, Padikkal, clubbed an unbeaten knock of 120 runs in 85 balls, completing the chase in just 27.5 overs.
Prasidh Krishna, Vidhwath Kaverappa, and Gopal picked three wickets each against Mumbai in the quarter-final to blow away the hosts for only 120. Later, Rahul’s 130 and Smaran’s undefeated 83 completed their fourth-innings chase to qualify for the semifinal.
Smaran is Karnataka’s leading run-getter of the season so far with 688 runs at 86 with three fifties and two centuries. With the ball, Gopal is the fourth leading wicket-taker of the Ranji Trophy 2025/26 with 41 wickets at 18.63.
Bengal or Karnataka- who have better chance for Ranji Trophy 2025-26 semifinal
Both Bengal and Karnataka look strong in different ways. For the latter, they have a strong batting department, especially in the presence of Rahul, who has notched up 230 runs in four innings. Nair has also bagged 631 runs at an average of over 70. Even Mayank Agarwal and Gopal have also crossed the 400-run tally, heading into the semifinal.
The semifinal clash will be a little more comfortable for Karnataka as they will be up against Uttarakhand. The pressure will be on the Kunal Chandela-led side at their maiden appearance in this stage. The fixture will take place on February 15 at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
Meanwhile, Bengal will be equally confident, playing in their familiar home venue. But their inform batters will have to overcome the challenge of Jammu & Kashmir’s Auqib Nabi, who is fresh from his 12-wicket haul. Easwaran’s army will hope to see Shami, Shahbaz, and Akash Deep go through J&K’s batting line-up.
Bengal’s semifinal clash against the Paras Dogra-led side will take place at the Bengal Cricket Academy in Kalyani.
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