Ranji Trophy 1934–35

The 1934–35 Ranji Trophy marked the start of the first-class cricket championship in India. Fifteen teams participated in this inaugural knockout tournament, which ran from 4 November 1934 to 12 March 1935. While the Board of Control for Cricket in India sought national participation, several states like Bengal, Bihar, and Rajputana did not take part.

The tournament opened with a historic match between Madras and Mysore at Chepauk. Madras secured a victory by an innings and 23 runs, with the entire game finishing in a single day. This remains the only match in the history of the competition to conclude within one day of play. Other notable individual performances included S. M. Hadi from Hyderabad, who scored the first century in the tournament, and George Abell from Northern India, who hit the first double century.

Bombay claimed the title by defeating Northern India by 208 runs at the Bombay Gymkhana Ground. Vijay Merchant led the scoring for the champions with 389 runs throughout the tournament. On the bowling side, A. G. Ram Singh of Madras proved effective, finishing with 22 wickets. Baqa Jilani also made a significant mark by taking a hat-trick for Northern India during the semifinal against Southern Punjab, a match that saw Southern Punjab bundled out for just 22 runs.