Mayank’s Karnataka pray for a miracle to enter Ranji knockouts

Bengaluru: Karnataka skipper Mayank Agarwal tends to walk the tightrope between optimism and delusion. It’s a necessary trait for athletes to possess - often referring it to as visualisation or manifestation - and Agarwal has forged it solid enough to assume these hypotheticals a reality.

But, even Mayank realised the magnitude of the challenge which confronts Karnataka from Thursday and dialled it down to saying the task is ‘improbable but not impossible’.

Karnataka have two Ranji Trophy fixtures remaining for the season, the first of which will see them take on a Shubman Gill-infused Punjab at the M Chinnaswamy stadium from Thursday. The second challenge comes in the form of Haryana from January 30.

The issue isn’t so much that Karnataka don’t have the resources to pick up points against these two teams, it is that they are fourth on the Group C points table with a mere 12 points from five prior engagements. Ahead of them are Haryana (20 points), Kerala (18) and Bengal (14).

Should Karnataka pick up seven (6 points plus a bonus point) points each from both of these exchanges, they will have 26 points and could well entertain chances of a spot in the knockouts.

Realistically, though, Karnataka don’t have enough number of games to make the next stage. That said, they won’t be bereft of reasonable excuses in the aftermath because their campaign was affected by rain and injuries to key players.

Now, close on the heels of an unexpected title from the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy a few days ago, Karnataka have a new-found reason to be optimistic amid this transitory phase.

Karnataka are most likely going to play the exact same playing XI as the one they employed in the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, and hope that these players who shouldered roles with white-ball class will do the same with the red-ball in their faces. In that sense, Nikin Jose is perhaps the only player who could find his way into this XI as a result of his long-format acumen.

As for the rest of the side, they look well-oiled with seniors such as Agarwal, Devdutt Padikkal, Shreyas Gopal, Prasidh Krishna and V Koushik shouldering responsibilities while the younger lot do their due diligence to keep Karnataka’s banner afloat.

KL Rahul would have been ideal in the mix, offering a throwback feel to the side, but his elbow injury means Karnataka will have to make do without him. But, given their recent morale boost, they probably won’t mind going about their business without a star or two.

Punjab, with 11 points and fifth on the table, are even lower on the scale in terms of qualifying for the quarters; but they do have Gill in their ranks for this game. The India international form has been up and down of late, and given the nature of this surface in Bengaluru, he is likely to have an immediate impact, unless Koushik’s nagging length and movement get the better of him.

While Punjab are without the services of Abhishek Sharma and Arshdeep Singh, both on international duty, they have enough quality in their ranks to upstage Karnataka.

Optimism, delusion or reality? We’ll know as the game unfolds.

Group C fixtures: Karnataka vs Punjab, Bengal vs Haryana, Bihar vs UP, Kerala vs Madhya Pradesh.