Jharkhand and Mumbai are the only two teams from the 2015-16 season to qualify for the quarter-finals in Ranji Trophy 2016-17. The defending champions Mumbai finished at the No 1 spot in the Group A and will take on Hyderabad in the quarter-final.
Jharkhand who lost to Mumbai in the 2015-16 season, fought it out in the Group B in the ongoing season to make to the next stage. Having risen from Group C, they performed consistently to finish at the top of the table in their group to stake a claim for the title and will fight against Haryana to keep their campaign alive.
However, the match to watch out for will be the battle between arch-rivals Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The two teams had battled for the title in the 2014-15 final, a game which Karnataka won.
Gujarat, who were denied a place in the quarter-finals in the last two seasons by narrow margins will take on Odisha for a place in the semi-final.
Mumbai vs Hyderabad: To be played at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur.
Hyderabad who had finished at the second last position in Group C last season qualified for the quarter-finals under the leadership of S Badrinath. They will be taking on defending champions Mumbai. While Mumbai have not lost a single game this season, they have had a few tough fights en route and can expect a tough fight from the opposition.
The Hyderabad lineup has four batsmen who have scored more than 400 runs in the season. While B Sandeep has top-scored for the team with 570 runs, captain Badrinath (410 runs) along with B Anirudh (461 runs) and P Reddy (432 runs) make the batting look solid. The pace attack comprising M Kiran (33 wickets), Mohammed Siraj (32 wickets) and CV Milind (28 wickets) have troubled batters through the season and have been instrumental in the team’s successes.
Mumbai will be without the services of Akhil Herwadkar, who was instrumental in their fortunes and will also miss Dhawal Kulkarni in the all-important match. Shubham Ranjane, who had shown nerves of steel in the game against Bengal is also not available. The team will bank on skipper Aditya Tare and experienced campaigner Abhishek Nayar, who have played crucial roles in the middle-order. They will be boosted by Shreyas Iyer’s performance in the last game of the league phase and Surya Kumar Yadav’s consistent run making in the middle-order. With Siddhesh Lad returning to the squad, Mumbai would look forward to his contribution. However, he has played only three matches this season. Shardul Thakur’s contributions with the bat besides his bowling will be an advantage for the side.
Tamil Nadu vs Karnataka: To be played at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Vizag.
Karnataka will be looking forward to the return of the in-form batsmen KL Rahul, Karun Nair and Manish Pandey for their marquee clash. Tamil Nadu had named R Ashwin and M Vijay in their squad but their availability remains uncertain owing to injury.
Captain Vinay Kumar (27 wickets) and Sreenath Arvind (26 wickets) have been in-form and along with K Gowtham (27 wickets) tested various oppositions. The skipper has three five-wicket hauls and two four wicket hauls to his credit from six matches. After leading the team to the title twice, but failing to qualify for the knockouts in the 2015-16 season, the seasoned campaigner will be looking to regain the title with his troops.
The Tamil Nadu skipper Abhinav Mukund too has been in good form. While he has amassed 672 runs, Kaushik Gandhi has 709 runs to his name. Besides the duo, wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik (592 runs) and Baba Indrajith (478 runs) strengthen the middle-order. The quarter-final clash will be Dinesh Karthik’s 100 Ranji Trophy game.
Pacer K Vignesh has been the find of the season for the team. The youngster, who made his first-class debut this season began the season with a five-for against Mumbai has 32 wickets against his name so far. The side have also benefitted from Aswin Crist’s (27 wickets) form with the ball along with meaningful contributions from Aushik Srinivas and T Natarajan.
Gujarat vs Odisha: At the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
Having missed out on the qualification to the next phase on the net run rate in the 2015-16 season, Gujarat have made it to the quarter-finals with a consistent run in the ongoing season. While they have only two wins against their name, the team have been propelled by the form of Priyank Panchal who has amassed over 1000 runs in the league phase. The batsman has been vital cog in the lineup. He has been well complemented by Manpreet Juneja (494 runs), Samit Gohel (459 runs) and Parthiv Patel. The Gujarat captain had garnered 415 runs from five matches before receiving his India recall. The team was ably led by Axar Patel in the absence of Parthiv to make it to the next phase. With pacers dominating the scene, Rush Kalaria has led the attack well along with Jasprit Bumrah. Axar has been ruled out of the clash due to an injury.
They will take on Odisha, who have made it to the quarter-finals under the able leadership of Govind Podder. While Odisha lost their last game by an innings and 93 runs to Jharkhand, it was their only loss of the season. The consistent batting lineup along with the Suryakant Pradhan and Basant Mohanty-led attack helped them make their way into the next stage. Left-arm spinner Dhiraj Singh (21 wickets) too is a vital cog in the team’s fortunes.
Haryana vs Jharkhand: At the Motibaug Cricket Ground, Vadodara
Relegated to Group C for the 2016-17 season, Haryana lifted themselves under the leadership of Mohit Sharma and made it to the knockouts. The young side finished at the top of the Group C table and find themselves opposite Jharkhand who were elevated to Group B for the ongoing season.
With five wins from eight matches, Jharkhand finished at the top of the Group B table. Ishan Kishan (633 runs) and Ishank Jaggi (675 runs) have propelled the batting. With over 500 runs to his name, hard-hitting middle-order batsman Saurabh Tiwary too has been a vital cog in the lineup as he led the team in the absence of Varun Aaron. Spinner Shahbaz Nadeem with 39 wickets continues to lead the bowling front, while pacer Ashish Kumar has 31 wickets to his name.
Haryana came into the season with a young side and a new captain. The skipper himself along with Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal and S Pahal have tested the oppositions. Joginder Sharma’s experience too has come in handy for the side as they look to stake a claim for the title. The bowling strength of the side could pose problems to the opponents while the solid lineup will have to take on the Shahbaz Nadeem-led attack. Nitin Saini (926 runs) has been the mainstay of the lineup and will be expected to carry the form into the knockout game. His efforts have been supplemented by S Rohilla, C Bishnoi and Rajat Paliwal.
