JOIN USKarnataka find themselves in a situation they would have least expected to be in in at the beginning of the season.
Batting coach J Arun Kumar, who was certain that this season’s team was one of the best to come out of the State, must be disappointed in that his team has managed a mere 15 points from seven matches with one win, a loss and five draws. Following Karnataka’s drawn encounter against Haryana at the KSCA ground in Rajnagar where they conceded the innings lead to finish with merely one point, the six-time champions need nothing less than a miracle to qualify for the quarterfinals from Group ‘B’.
Karnataka next face Maharashtra at the Sahara stadium in Pune, and going by how that pitch has played up, it is expected to be a drab affair which could potentially end in a stalemate. However, if Karnataka do manage to pull off an outright win against the hosts under less-than-promising circumstances, they would open up a tiny window of opportunity. Uttar Pradesh, who lead the table with 27 points, have already made it to the next round while Baroda, who have 22 points with a match in hand, stand better chance of making the grade.
With two of the three spots almost taken up, the fight now remains for the remaining place, and everyone -- barring Maharashtra -- in the nine-team table is a contender for that honour. If Karnataka do manage to post an outright win over Maharashtra, they would move to 21 points. If Vidarbha (19), Delhi (17) and Odisha (16), who are all ahead of Karnataka at this point, come up one-point or no-point effort from their last league matches, they stand to benefit.
Karnataka’s best chance, provided they win their last tie, is in Delhi managing just an innings lead against Vidarbha in the last-round of matches that will leave both teams at 20 points each. Other strong contenders for the spot, Odisha have a tough task of winning against UP. TN and Haryana, who have thirteen points each and take on each other in the final game, will need a bonus-point win to be in the reckoning.