The third edition of the Ranji Trophy ran from 3 December 1936 to 10 February 1937, featuring seventeen teams across India. The tournament used a knockout format, though the Board of Control for Cricket in India organised the participating sides into four zonal groups. Bihar and Nawanagar entered the competition as newcomers, while Northern India did not return from the previous season.
Nawanagar made an immediate impact by claiming the championship at their first attempt. They secured the title by defeating Bengal by 256 runs in the final match, which was played on a neutral venue after Nawanagar won the toss and elected to bat.
Individual performances shaped the tournament, particularly from the champions' squad. Sorabji Colah led all batsmen by scoring 384 runs, and Amar Singh dominated with the ball by capturing 28 wickets for Nawanagar.
| East Zone , Bengal , Bihar , Central India (now Madhya Pradesh) , Rajputana (now Rajasthan) | North Zone , Delhi , Southern Punjab (now Punjab) , United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) | South Zone , Central Provinces and Berar (now Vidarbha) , Hyderabad , Madras (now Tamil Nadu) , Mysore (now Karnataka) | West Zone , Bombay (now Mumbai) , Gujarat , Maharashtra , Nawanagar , Sind , Western India |
| Round 1 | Round 2 |
| 19-20 December 1936 – Calcutta | |
| Bengal | 89 & 152/2 |
| 23-25 Jan 1937 – Calcutta | |
| Bihar | 113 & 127 |
| Bengal | 255 & 108/2 |
| 3-5 December 1936 – Ajmer | |
| Central India | 128 & 234 |
| Rajputana | 292 & 117 |
| Central India | 232 & 302/9d |
| 3–5 December 1936 Scorecard |
| Central India | v | Rajputana (H) |
| 232 (81 overs)Ishtiaq Ali 50Khahwraj Murad 3/20 (8 overs) | 292 (75 overs)Harban Singh 69Ziaul Hussain 5/105 (30 overs) | |
| 302/9d (71 overs)Mushtaq Ali 50Walter Bradshaw 4/68 (27 overs) | 117 (38 overs)Himmatsinhji 39Ziaul Hussain 5/45 (16 overs) |
| Central India won by 125 runsMayo College Ground, Ajmer |
| 19–20 December 1936 Scorecard |
| Bihar | v | Bengal (H) |
| 113 (39.3 overs)Bijoy Sen 28Probodh Dutt 5/33 (14 overs) | 89 (46 overs)Kamal Bhattacharya 18J Das Gupta 6/18 (13 overs) | |
| 127 (51 overs)Bijoy Sen 24A Chowdhury 24Stanley Behrend 5/29 (14 overs) | 152/2 (42.3 overs)Alec Hosie 60Subir Chakravorty 1/46 (8.3 overs) |
| Bengal won by 8 wicketsRangers Ground, Calcutta |
| 23–25 January 1937 Scorecard |
| Central India | v | Bengal (H) |
| 128 (53.3 overs)Jamshed Bhaya 33Shute Banerjee 5/33 (10 overs) | 255 (92.2 overs)Alec Hosie 61Shahabuddin 3/36 (23 overs) | |
| 234 (67.5 overs)Mushtaq Ali 67Tom Longfield 6/57 (23 overs) | 108/2 (29 overs)Kartick Bose 60*Shahabuddin 2/22 (6 overs) |
| Bengal won by 8 wicketsEden Gardens, Calcutta |
| Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 |
| 7-9 December 1936 - Ahmedabad | ||
| Gujarat | 77 & 105 | |
| 8-10 January 1937 – Poona | ||
| Western India | 186 & 262/9d | |
| Maharashtra | 159 & 219 | |
| Western India | 400 | |
| 15-17 January 1937 – Poona | ||
| Western India | 106 & 174/4 | |
| 4-6 December 1936 – Ahmedabad | ||
| Nawanagar | 224 & 341/7d | |
| Nawanagar | 339 & 147 | |
| 11-13 January 1937 – Poona | ||
| Sind | 128 & 106 | |
| Nawanagar | 263 & 137/7 | |
| Bombay | 174 & 277/6d |
| 4–6 December 1936 Scorecard |
| Nawanagar | v | Sind |
| 339 (128 overs)Amar Singh 103Ghulam Mohammad 4/75 (24 overs) | 128 (49 overs)Naoomal Jeoomal 46Amar Singh 6/48 (25 overs) | |
| 147 (58.3 overs)Amar Singh 55Ghulam Mohammad 4/52 (26 overs) | 106 (38.3 overs)Ghulam Mohammad 30Amar Singh 4/35 (15 overs) |
| Nawanagar won by 252 runsGujarat College Ground, Ahmedabad |
| 7–9 December 1936 Scorecard |
| Western India | v | Gujarat (H) |
| 186 (63 overs)Hari Mali 56*EG Hans 3/20 (10 overs) | 77 (46.2 overs)Hemu Adhikari 26Khwaja Saeed 6/23 (20.2 overs) | |
| 262/9d (87 overs)Hari Mali 92EG Hans 7/41 (25 overs) | 105 (50.4 overs)Hemu Adhikari 30Narsingrao Kesari 4/27 (15.4 overs) |
| Western India won by 266 runsGujarat College Ground, Ahmedabad |
| 8–10 January 1937 Scorecard |
| Maharashtra (H) | v | Western India |
| 159 (58.4 overs)Jacob Harris 40Shantilal Gandhi 3/39 (18 overs) | 400 (141.4 overs)Faiz Ahmed 105SV Datar 6/85 (35.1 overs) | |
| 219 (99.2 overs)Yeshwant Gokhale 69Akbar Khan 3/36 (25 overs) |
| Western India won by an innings and 22 runsPoona Club Ground, Poona |
| 11–13 January 1937 Scorecard |
| Bombay | v | Nawanagar |
| 174 (72.2 overs)Dadabhoy Havewala 52Amar Singh 8/62 (28.2 overs) | 263 (110.5 overs)Abdul Aziz 89Vijay Merchant 4/45 (13 overs) | |
| 277/6d (91 overs)Vijay Merchant 114*Albert Wensley 2/37 (10 overs) | 137/7 (48 overs)Amar Singh 52*Dadabhoy Havewala 3/29 (14 overs) |
| Match drawnDeccan Gymkhana Ground, Poona Umpires: Ladha Ramji and Vali Ahmed |
| 15–17 January 1937 Scorecard |
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