SSC
The Ranji Trophy, India's national first-class cricket championship, began in:
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Answer: Option A — 1934-35
Detailed Solution
The Ranji Trophy, India's premier domestic first-class cricket championship, was first played in the 1934-35 season. Bombay (now Mumbai) won the first title, beating Northern India in the final.
How the Ranji Trophy began:
The tournament was planned at a meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in July 1934, soon after the BCCI was founded in 1928.
It was named after Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji (1872-1933), the Jam Sahib (ruler) of Nawanagar, who played Test cricket for England and became famous for his elegant batting and the "leg glance". He is often called the "father of Indian cricket".
The trophy was donated by Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala.
Format:
- The tournament is played between teams representing states and some other associations (such as Railways and Services).
- Teams are placed in groups, and the top teams go on to the knockout stage.
- Matches are played over four or five days.
Records:
Mumbai has won the most titles (42), including 15 consecutive titles from 1958-59 to 1972-73.
The highest individual score in the Ranji Trophy is 443 not out by B. B. Nimbalkar for Maharashtra in 1948-49.
Other domestic tournaments named after cricketers:
Duleep Trophy (zonal first-class, since 1961-62): named after Duleepsinhji, Ranjitsinhji's nephew.
Irani Cup (since 1959-60): named after Z. R. Irani, a BCCI official.
Vijay Hazare Trophy (one-day) and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (T20).
Why not the other options?
- ✗1928-29: the BCCI was founded in December 1928, not the Ranji Trophy.
- ✗1947-48 is the season of India's first tour of Australia after independence.
- ✗1961-62 is the first season of the Duleep Trophy.
Quick tip
Remember: Ranji Trophy = began 1934-35, named after Ranjitsinhji, trophy donated by the Maharaja of Patiala; first champion and most titles = Bombay/Mumbai.
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Sports — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Sports, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers sports GK: major tournaments and their venues, trophies and cups associated with each sport, sports terms, the number of players in a team, sports awards in India, Olympic and Asian Games facts, and famous sportspersons and their achievements. Common questions ask which sport a trophy belongs to (such as the Durand Cup for football or the Ranji Trophy for cricket), which term is used in which sport, and where a tournament was held. Records and results change after every season, so pair static facts such as team sizes and terms with recent results from current affairs. Practise the sports questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.