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"In the summer of that year, the Board of Control for Cricket in India had met at Simla, where the founder of the BCCI, A S De Mello had proposed the national championship. De Mello wrote: It was with something like trepidation that I submitted my proposal of the Ranji Trophy to the august gathering, and also laid before the meeting an artist's drawing of the proposed trophy, a Grecian urn two feet high, with a lid, the handle of which represented Father Time. "Even I was not prepared for the event that followed. The late Maharajah of Patiala, Bhupendra Singh Bahadur, jumped up when I was scarcely half way through my brief proposal. The pine-scented air appeared immediately electrified. In deep tones, charged with emotion, His Highness claimed the honour and privilege of perpetuating the name of the great Ranji, who had permanently departed from this life only the year before. He offered straightaway to present a gold cup of the magnificent design submitted by me and valued at 500 pounds, to be called the Ranji Trophy. It was to be competed for annually by the Provincial Cricket Associations of India. The late Maharajah also agreed to present a miniature trophy, which would become the possession of the winning Association in this championship. Every year since then, the House of Patiala has presented the miniature. Thus, briefly, was the Ranji Trophy born." (From "Fortyfive years of Ranji Trophy" by P N Sundaresan)
The match was all over in five and a half hours of play on the opening day, with Madras triumphing by an innings and 23 runs. This remains a unique instance of a Ranji Trophy match being completed in a single day of cricket.
To read on about Tamil Nadu cricket, rush to your nearest bookstore. Published by Kalamkriya Ltd and distributed by EastWest Books (Madras) Pvt. Ltd, the book is priced at Rs 295. Kalamkriya, 9, Cathedral
Road,
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Copyright
2008, Chennai Interactive
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Nov 4, 1934. The first Ranji Trophy match in history took place at Chepauk, Madras, barely six months after it was suggested and adopted.
M J Gopalan, the Madras fast-medium bowler, delivered the first ball in the Ranji Trophy to N Curtis of Mysore, but the kudumi-sporting Triplicane all rounder had to wait until the second innings for his first wicket, as his partner, left arm A G Ram Singh (6 for 19) and captain Conrad Johnstone (4 for 10) shared the spoils among themselves, the Mysore batsmen coming and going in a steady procession, like lambs to the slaughter. 
Thirty wickets fell on a pitch affected by heavy, overnight rain. P N Sundaresan recalls: "It was with little hope of play that many of us reached Chepauk in the morning but we were swept away by the swift sequence of events. A G Ram Singh, the stocky, bearded left arm spinner, was the hero of the day as he demolished the Mysore innings twice with his tantalising spinners, which found ready response from the rain-affected wicket. He bagged 11 wickets for the match for 55 runs, thus becoming the first player to enter the record books of the championship. In the first innings, he took 6 for 19 as Mysore fell for 48 runs, with his skipper C P Johnstone, who bowled off-cutters, taking the other 4 for 10 runs; in the Mysore second innings, he took 5 for 16 with Gopalan and Johnstone sharing the remaining five."
"Madras totalled 130 runs in their reply, but it is a matter of speculation whether they would have fared as well if M G Vijayasarathi, who bowled medium off breaks, had opened the attack along with B N Nagaraja Rao. When he was given the ball as a third change, he caused a collapse of the lower half of the innings with a clinching spell of 8-3-23-6, all the dismissals being in a row. It was an unforgettable day of cricket for me; and N S Ramaswami and K N Prabhu, now well known scribes of the game, will bear me out."….
