Battle for quarterfinal slots heats up
As the teams brace up for the final round of Ranji Trophy Super League encounters starting from Wednesday, there will be intense battle among five Group A teams vying for two quarterfinal slots.
With Mumbai and Karnataka having already qualified for the last-eight stage from Group A and B respectively, one can expect some keen contests for the remaining four slots that are up for grabs. The last two slots will be taken by Plate Group semifinal winners.
The battle is likely to go down to the wire in Group A where five teams -- Tamil Nadu (14 points), Delhi (13), Gujarat (13), Bengal (12), and Railways (11) -- will be fighting out for the remaining two slots.
It was Delhi’s shock defeat against the Railways that has thrown the group wide open. Delhi, who will be playing arch rivals Mumbai at the Roshanara ground, would hope that they can manage an outright win (five points) which will take them to 18 points. That certainly will assure them a place among the top eight.
In case, Delhi manage only three and finish with 16 points, then they will have to wait for the results of the Tamil Nadu versus Gujarat and Railways versus Bengal clash.
If TN manage an outright win they are through to next round, In case of Gujarat, they would try and secure an outright win as three points would mean they would be tied on 16 points with Delhi.
For Railways to qualify, they simply need a win and hope that Mumbai and TN take first innings lead against Delhi and Gujarat respectively. A win would mean Railways would be on 16 points while Delhi and Gujarat will be on 14 each.
For Bengal, a win would take them to 17 points and they will qualify even if Delhi and Gujarat manage first innings lead.
