Vijay Hazare Trophy | Karnataka eye knockout berth

Bengaluru: Unbeaten Karnataka will be looking to lock in a quarterfinal spot when they take on bottom-dwellers Rajasthan in their penultimate Elite Group A match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.

Perched at the top of the table with a perfect 20 points from five games, defending champions will advance to the knockout stage – scheduled to kick off at BCCI’s Centre of Excellence from January 12 – if they beat Rajasthan (4) at the Gujarat College Cricket Ground.

Madhya Pradesh (16) are placed second while Jharkhand and Kerala are third and fourth respectively with 12 points each. Only MP, who play Jharkhand on Tuesday and Karnataka in the final group game on Thursday, can reach 24 points if they win both their games. The top two teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals and Karnataka will be guaranteed if they beat Rajasthan.

Given the poor run of Rajasthan and the imperious touch Karnataka have been in, the holders will start overwhelming favourites to ace the contest. Once again, the spotlight will be on Devdutt Padikkal, the opener who has smashed four centuries to lead the batting charts with 514 runs.

Out of the national limited-overs set-up – Padikkal last played a T20I against Sri Lanka in July 2021 and hasn’t been considered for one-dayers – the gifted 25-year-old has made a serious statement of his credentials and hunger. He has hardly put a foot wrong, constantly giving Karnataka strong starts that has allowed their middle and lower order to flourish. The southpaw, an elegant striker of the ball, will be eyeing another big knock that will set things nicely for him and the team in the business end of the competition.

The game assumes importance for India wicketkeeper K L Rahul who will be looking to hit the stride before he departs for the New Zealand ODI series starting January 11. Rahul, who batted at No. 5 and kept wickets later in the game against Tripura on Saturday, made an enterprising 28-ball 35.

R Smaran, who returned to form with a measured 60 off 82 balls against Tripura, will be hoping for a big knock. He was one of the standout performers for Karnataka in the first phase of the Ranji Trophy before his form waned in the limited-overs leg.

On the bowling front, Karnataka will also have the services of Prasidh Krishna that gives the attack a potent look along with Vyshak Vijaykumar and Shreyas Gopal.