Ranji Trophy 2017-18: Top 5 bowlers

There were numerous unknown names who grabbed attention this Ranji season, with excellent performances from both the bat as well as the ball. Five standout performances with the ball in the 2017-18 Ranji season have been listed below, a list which features youngsters as well as experienced cricketers for their respective sides.

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#1 Krishnappa Gowtham, Karnataka – 34 wickets at 22.24 in 8 matches

An unlikely performer for heavyweights Karnataka, off-spinner Krishnappa Gowtham ended up as the highest-wicket taker from his side in the 2017-18 Ranji season. In the very first game against Assam, Gowtham bagged seven in the match; not only that, he also smashed his highest first-class score of 149 batting at number five, which meant Karnataka started the season with an innings victory.

Then came yet another career-best performance: 7/72 against Railways, and another three in the same game helped Karnataka thrash them by 209 runs. As if that was not enough, came figures of 6/104 in the quarter-final against Mumbai, in which the Ranji giants crashed to an innings defeat.

#2 Akshay Wakhare, Vidarbha – 34 wickets at 21.76 in 8 matches

Yet another success story of the under-rated Vidarbha side, off-spinner Akshay Wakhare led the spin department with aplomb. Having shown some pre-season form with a total of seven wickets for India Bule against India Red in the Duleep Trophy, Wakhare carried on the momentum right from Vidarbha's first Ranji game.

Four wickets against Punjab in an innings victory started a memorable journey for his team as well as Wakhare. Two five-fors against Services – 5/87 and 5/16 – gave Vidarbha a big win.

Wakhare, 32, then took nine more against Goa to lead his side to yet another innings win; and two games later, contributed crucial lower-order runs against Kerala in the quarter-final. And when the biggest occasion came calling, he spun Delhi out in the final with figures of 4/95.

#3 Ashok Dinda, Bengal – 35 wickets at 20.20 in 8 matches

One of the old warhorses of Bengal cricket, 33-year-old Ashok Dinda maintained consistency throughout a season in which he also played his hundredth first-class game for them. In just the second match this year, Dinda ran through the Chhattisgarh batting line-up, claiming excellent figures of 7/21 and 3/26 in the game, thus giving Bengal an innings win and receiving the Player of the Match award.

Two more five-fors came against Himachal Pradesh and Goa, and though both matches were drawn, Bengal gained useful first innings lead both times to pave the way for their qualification for the quarter-final, in which Dinda took 3/48 against defending champions Gujarat.

#4 Rajneesh Gurbani, Vidarbha – 39 wickets at 17.13 in 6 matches

An unknown name to have made it big in just his second Ranji season, medium pacer Rajneesh Gurbani had a fairytale of a journey in which he took 39 wickets. Most importantly, he always performed when it mattered the most: 6/113 against Himachal Pradesh in the final group game, 5/38 against Kerala in the quarter-final, 5/94 and a career-best 7/68 against Karnataka in a tense semi-final win and most crucially, 6/59 against Delhi in the final, a haul which included a hat-trick.

Though he lacks the adequate pace to threaten a batsman, his swing and accuracy proved enough to unsettle the opposition multiple times.

#5 Jalaj Saxena, Kerala – 44 wickets at 17.11 in 7 matches

The experienced all-rounder Jalaj Saxena, who switched over to Kerala from Madhya Pradesh at the start of the 2016/17 season, ended up as the highest wicket-taker in 2017-18. Not only that, he hit 522 runs at 52.20 though Kerala were eliminated in the quarter-final after losing to eventual winners Vidarbha by a massive 412 runs.

Eleven wickets against Jharkhand inspired Kerala to a nine-wicket win while ten wickets and a century – also a first innings 79 – fashioned another outright victory against Rajasthan. He got a century and three fifties and bagged three five-wicket hauls to go with two ten-wicket match hauls.