Rahul 4, Jaiswal 0, Jadeja 102: what Ranji Trophy round one tells India before the New Zealand Tests

India's Test openers went back to the Ranji Trophy for some time in the middle before the New Zealand tour. They got almost none. KL Rahul was out for 4 in the fourth over for Karnataka in Vijayawada, and Yashasvi Jaiswal lasted 13 balls for a duck for Mumbai at the Wankhede.

Elsewhere, round one was full of runs and wickets from players with an eye on the Test squad. Ravindra Jadeja made a hundred, Tushar Deshpande took a hat-trick, Mohammed Shami took four wickets and Abishek Porel scored a century. India's Test squad for New Zealand has not been picked yet, so every innings this week counts.

Ranji Trophy round one: India players at a glance

• KL Rahul (Karnataka vs Andhra): 4
• Yashasvi Jaiswal (Mumbai vs Chandigarh): 0 off 13 balls
• Ravindra Jadeja (Saurashtra vs Chhattisgarh): 102
• Mohammed Shami (Bengal vs Delhi): 4/30
• Akash Deep (Bengal vs Delhi): 2/74
• Tushar Deshpande (Mumbai vs Chandigarh): 5/17 with a hat-trick, and 44 off 47 with the bat
• Rinku Singh (Uttar Pradesh vs Bihar): century

KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal: a quiet return

Rahul's 4 came as Karnataka slid to 22 for 4 against Andhra's new-ball pair, Kavuri Saiteja and KV Sasikanth. Karnataka were rescued by their captain, R Smaran, who made 126 on his captaincy debut, and Krishnan Shrijith, who hit 58 off 82, to reach 274.

Jaiswal's duck came on the first morning at the Wankhede. Mumbai recovered through their captain, Siddhesh Lad, who made 86, Musheer Khan (65) and Tanush Kotian (58), and finished on 429.

One innings in October does not change much for two players with their records. Both are in the India A squad for the three four-day games against New Zealand A, which start in Lincoln on 24 October, and those games are now their best chance to arrive at the Test series in form. Still, India go into a tour where the new ball does a lot, and both openers will want runs before the Tests start on 19 November.

Ravindra Jadeja: a hundred on his return

Jadeja batted like a man with nothing to prove and plenty of time. He was 72 not out off 154 balls at the end of the first day and went on to 102, his 16th first-class hundred, as Saurashtra made 392 against Chhattisgarh in Rajkot. Prerak Mankad made 129 alongside him.

Runs from Jadeja at number six or seven are a big part of why India can play five bowlers in Test cricket. A hundred before a tour to New Zealand is exactly what India want to see from him.

Tushar Deshpande: a hat-trick in his 50th first-class game

The standout bowling of the round came from Mumbai's Tushar Deshpande. In his 50th first-class match, he took 5 for 17 as Chandigarh were bowled out for 78, including a hat-trick in the 11th over: Arjun Azad, Shivam Bhambri and Dipender Kush off successive balls. He had already made 44 off 47 balls with the bat.

Deshpande dedicated the hat-trick to his father, Uday, who used to tell him that one wicket in an over is fine but two make a very good bowler. "I want to chase performance, not selection," he told BCCI.tv. Mumbai enforced the follow-on, and Deshpande had Vishu Kashyap out for a duck in the last over of the second day.

He has 140 first-class wickets at about 28. India are unlikely to rush him into a Test squad, but a fit, wicket-taking seamer in form is the kind of name selectors keep in their back pocket for a long season.

Mohammed Shami: four more wickets

Mohammed Shami started his season with 4 for 30 as Bengal bowled Delhi out for 240 in Kalyani, conceding just 11 runs in his first 12 overs. Abishek Porel and Sudip Gharami then both made hundreds to put Bengal in charge. Shami is still pushing for an India recall, and we have made his full case in our piece on Shami and the 2027 World Cup.

Other players who caught the eye

• Rinku Singh made a century as Uttar Pradesh piled up 540 against Bihar. He and Madhav Kaushik added an unbeaten double-hundred stand on the first day.
• Vidarbha were 54 for 5 against Puducherry before Yash Rathod and their captain Akshay Wadkar both made hundreds.
• Defending champions Jammu and Kashmir bowled Madhya Pradesh out for 196 on the first day, with Rohit Sharma taking 5 for 36.
• Sai Sudharsan, the India A first-class vice-captain against Australia A, fell for 3 for Rajasthan against Tamil Nadu.

What it means for the New Zealand Tests

India's Test squad for New Zealand has not been announced. Rahul and Jaiswal are still India's first-choice openers, and one failure each will not change that, but the India A games in Lincoln and Christchurch now matter more for them. Jadeja's hundred confirms what India already knew, and Deshpande's hat-trick puts a new name on the list of seamers in form.

Round two starts on Sunday. Follow TryBall for every India update and the New Zealand tour schedule in Indian time.