Pandey finished with a 13-wicket haul, claiming four in the first, before a nine-wicket haul in the second set up a comfortable win for Railways. Chasing 306 to win, Goa were blown away by Pandey’s spell, finishing on 242. The remaining wicket was claimed by Pratham Singh. Suyash Prabhudessai put up a lone front of defiance, scoring 67 off 115.

Pandey made his first-class debut for Railways in 2022, and has since played fourteen first-class matches, picking up 63 wickets.

His nine-wicket haul closely follows Jalaj Saxena’s feat for Kerala against Bengal just two days ago. It is only the third instance of a nine-wicket haul in the Ranji Trophy this decade, with 16-year-old Manipur debutant Jotin Pheiroijam Singh claiming 9-69 in December 2022.

Earlier in the game, Pandey’s batting skills helped Railways put up 297 in the first innings: batting at nine, he kept the Goa bowlers at bay for 79 balls, scoring 26, the third-best score in the innings.

One more wicket in the fourth innings could have made Pandey just the sixth Indian bowler to take ten wickets in a first-class innings. He finished with figures of 26.2-5-71-9.

Watch Akash Pandey’s nine-wicket haul against Goa: