The 1995–96 Ranji Trophy marked the 62nd season of India's premier first-class cricket competition. A total of 26 teams competed across league and knockout stages for the title. The format tested players over long-form matches, rewarding consistency and technical skill throughout the domestic calendar.
Karnataka emerged as the champions, securing their fourth title by defeating Tamil Nadu on the first innings lead in the final. This victory highlighted a strong season for the team. An unusual situation occurred in the semi-finals, as three of the four teams involved were from the South Zone, with Hyderabad joining the two finalists.
Individual performances shaped the narrative of the season. Hyderabad batter M. V. Sridhar topped the run-scoring charts with 868 runs. Karnataka spinner Sunil Joshi led the wicket-taking list, finishing the tournament with 52 dismissals.
Milestones were a recurring theme throughout the tournament. Karnataka bowler Sunil Joshi reached 100 first-class wickets, while his teammate Anil Kumble passed 400. In the batting ranks, Delhi player Ajay Sharma crossed 1,000 first-class runs, and Karnataka's Rahul Dravid moved past 4,000 runs during the campaign.
| 26 February – 1 March 1996 1st Quarter-final Scorecard |
| Karnataka (H) | v | Baroda |
| 480 (138.3 overs)Kartik Jeshwant 138R. A. Swaroop 4/84 (31.3 overs) | 213 (66.5 overs)Kiran More 49David Johnson 5/91 (22 overs) | |
| 188 (57 overs)Mukesh Narula 41*Rangarao Ananth 4/57 (18 overs) |
| Karnataka won by an innings and 79 runsRajinder Singh Institute Ground, Bangalore Umpires: K. S. Giridharan and Jasbir Singh |
| 26 February – 1 March 1996 2nd Quarter-final Scorecard |
| Tamil Nadu (H) | v | Bombay |
| 246 (85.2 overs)Sridharan Sharath 86Sairaj Bahutule 5/91 (33.2 overs) | 196 (127.5 overs)Sulakshan Kulkarni 84*Balaji Rao 4/46 (26.5 overs) | |
| 250 (135.3 overs)Sridharan Sharath 90Nilesh Kulkarni 3/67 (33 overs) | 147 (61.3 overs)Amol Muzumdar 58*Robin Singh 7/54 (22 overs) |
| Tamil Nadu won by 153 runsIndian Cement Company Ground, Tirunelveli Umpires: Narendra Menon and Harnarain Singh Sekhon |
| 26 February – 1 March 1996 3rd Quarter-final Scorecard |
| Vidarbha | v | Hyderabad (H) |
| 409 (1661.1 overs)Umakant Phate 115Narender Pal Singh 4/120 (40.1 overs) | 620 (272.5 overs)VVS Laxman 196Parimal Hedaoo 2/90 (35.5 overs) | |
| 32/1 (14 overs)Manish Dosi 14*Vanka Pratap 1/20 (5 overs) |
| Match drawnGymkhana Ground, Secunderabad Umpires: Sekhar Choudhary and Des Raj |
| 26 February – 1 March 1996 4th Quarter-final Scorecard |
| Delhi (H) | v | Railways |
| 431 (140.4 overs)Ajay Sharma 1365/86 (42 overs) | 223 (73.2 overs)Vijendra Yadav 75Atul Wassan 6/75 (21 overs) | |
| 561/9 (183 overs)Ajay Sharma 182Javed Alam 3/121 (39 overs) |
| Match DrawnAir Force Station, Delhi Umpires: Kutticode Murali and Rangachari Vijayaraghavan |
| 14–18 March 1996 1st Semi-final Scorecard |
| Delhi | v | Tamil Nadu (H) |
| 256 (97.2 overs)Akash Malhotra 117Divakar Vasu 5/71 (28 overs) | 272 (103 overs)Woorkeri Raman 85Nikhil Chopra 4/122 (35 overs) | |
| 232 (92.2 overs)Sumeet Dogra 97Balaji Rao 3/46 (20 overs) | 220/2 (66 overs)Woorkeri Raman 116Atul Wassan 1/28 (11 overs) |
| Tamil Nadu won by 8 wicketsMA Chidambaram Stadium, Madras Umpires: Purnachandra Godbole and M. R. Singh |
| 14–18 March 1996 2nd Semi-final Scorecard |
| Karnataka (H) | v | Hyderabad |
| 423 (134.5 overs)Rahul Dravid 153Mohammad Mohiuddin 3/101 (23 overs) | 188 (67 overs)Noel David 57Sunil Joshi 4/58 (24 overs) | |
| 312 (116.3 overs)Kartik Jeshwant 85Ramakrishnan Sridhar 3/58 (43 overs) | 363/7 (132 overs)VVS Laxman 203*Sunil Joshi 5/126 (59 overs) |
| Match drawn (Karnataka won on first innings lead)M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore Umpires: Chandra Sathe and Surinder Kumar Sharma |
| 27–31 March 1996 Scorecard |
| Karnataka | v | Tamil Nadu (H) |
| 620/8d (168.4 overs)Vijay Bharadwaj 146Balaji Rao 3/173 (54 overs) | 370 (120 overs)Krishnaraj Srinath 85Anil Kumble 5/95 (31 overs) | |
| 277/6d (95 overs)Avinash Vaidya 61Divakar Vasu 2/58 (22 overs) | 31/3 (15 overs)S. Sharath 13*Sunil Joshi 2/12 (6 overs) |
| Match drawn (Karnataka won on first innings lead)MA Chidambaram Stadium, Madras Umpires: Shyam Bansal and Subroto Porel |
Squad lists and statistics via Wikipedia