R Smaran smashed his eighth first-class century in round one of the Ranji Trophy 2026/27 season, against Andhra at the ACA Cricket Ground in Mulapadu.
Smaran steadies the innings as senior stars falter
Handed the captaincy for the season opener in Devdutt Padikkal’s absence, Smaran had to dig deep after Karnataka lost three wickets for just nine runs and slumped to 22 for 4. India opener KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal and Karun Nair all fell for single digits within eight overs.
Smaran slowly rebuilt the innings alongside Krishnan Shrijith, who scored 58. The pair added 111 runs for the fifth wicket. Wickets fell at the other end, but Smaran kept fighting and reached three figures off 186 balls.
He eventually fell for 126, a knock that included 11 fours and a six. His innings helped Karnataka recover to 274 from a precarious position. The Karnataka bowlers then fought back, reducing Andhra to half their side for 116. Seeram Rahul and Revanth Reddy then added an unbroken 70 for the eighth wicket to stabilize the innings.
A breakout year on the national stage
Smaran recently earned his first India A call-up for the New Zealand tour, which starts on October 26 in Lincoln. He earned the selection with an impressive Irani Cup performance. He scored 68 in the first innings for Rest of India against Jammu and Kashmir, then followed it with a stronger 135 in the second innings, setting up a 167-run win.
Now 23, Smaran is widely regarded as one of India’s most promising talents, and his record supports that reputation. He has scored 1,945 runs from 21 first-class matches at an average of 74.80, with a century roughly every fourth innings. He has also performed well in limited-overs cricket, averaging 50.33 at a strike rate of 96 in List A matches and 39.07 at a strike rate of 156 in T20 cricket.
