Kamboj makes it ‘Perfect 10’ in Ranji

LAHLI: Haryana pacer Anshul Kamboj entered the record books on Friday as he became only the third bowler in the history of Ranji Trophy to claim all 10 wickets in an innings.

Kamboj, 23, achieved the feat in the home team’s Group C game against Kerala at the Chaudhary Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium at the outskirts of Rohtak.

Kamboj ended with incredible figures of 10/49 in 30.1 overs. It must be mentioned that Kamboj was very close to getting selected for India A’s tour of Australia but a senior member of the coaching staff was more keen on having hit-the-deck bowler in Navdeep Saini, who is also a few miles quicker compared to Haryana man.

The young man, who had played three IPL matches for Mumbai Indians last season, had recently been part of the Indian team at the Emerging Asia Cup in Oman and had also had an impressive Duleep Trophy. He was sent to Emerging Asia Cup after the selectors couldn’t slot him for Australia A tour.

Kamboj, when in rhythm, bowls around mid 130 clicks and he is also considered a good death overs proponent in T20 cricket.

With a big green grass cover between the 6-10 metre area, Kamboj was able to move the ball both ways, keeping it on top of off-stump. He had taken eight wickets by the end of second day and equalled the record on the third morning.

Premangshu Chatterjee of Bengal (10/20 vs Assam, 1956) and Pradeep Sundaram (10/78, Rajasthan v Vidarbha, 1985) of Rajasthan are the other two bowlers to have taken 10 wickets in an innings in the country’s premier domestic tournament.

Overall, Kamboj is the sixth Indian bowler to grab a 10-wicket haul in First-Class cricket. The legendary Anil Kumble, Subhash Gupte and Debashish Mohanty are the others on the list.

Kamboj entered the third day’s play with eight wickets to his name and claimed the wickets of Basil Thampi and Shoun Roger to complete the remarkable feat.

While running through the Kerala batting line-up, Kamboj also went past 50 First-Class wickets in 19 matches.

Best bowling figures in Ranji Trophy history:

10/20 – Premangshu Chatterjee – Bengal v Assam (1956-57)

10/49 – Anshul Kamboj – Haryana v Kerala (2024-25)

10/78 – Pradeep Sunderam – Rajasthan v Vidarbha (1985-86)