Former Champions Tamil Nadu have an herculean task of making it to the semifinals of this season’s Ranji Trophy championship.

On the eve of their sixth tie against Rajasthan, who are presently eighth-placed below Karnataka (9pts) and Himachal Pradesh (4pts) with just three points, the hosts still are hopeful of a semifinal berth.

Pitted against former champion Delhi and defending  champions Mumbai earlier in the eight-team Group-A of Super League,Tamil Nadu have garnered just 12 points from five matches as compared to 17 points by Delhi and 15 each by Mumbai, Maharashtra and Saurashtra.

Other matches:

Super League (Sixth round): Group A: Himachal Pradesh vs Mumbai, Dharamsala; Maharashtra vs Saurashtra, Nagothane; Tamil Nadu vs Rajasthan, Chennai.

Group B: Andhra vs Baroda, Visakhapatnam; Bengal vs Uttar Pradesh, Kolkata; Punjab vs Orissa, Mohali.