Raina and boys in a tricky situation in last encounter
An outright win against Baroda may help former champions and hosts Uttar Pradesh join seven others in quarterfinals
LUCKNOW: When the eighth and final round of the Ranji Trophy begins on Tuesday, it would be a tricky situation for hosts and former champions Uttar Pradesh to make it to the knockout stage.
Only an outright win in a Group B match against Baroda, starting at the Sports Complex ground in Noida on Tuesday, can help the side enter last eight, but much would depend on the outcome of other matches in the pool.
The tie would also mark the launching of the UP Cricket Association’s new domestic venue.
Mumbai with 32 points in as many as seven matches have already qualified for the quarterfinals from the group. They would be playing against second-placed Gujarat (23 pts) in their last match. Both Punjab (20 pts) and Tamil Nadu (18 pts) are in the fray for a berth in the knockout, but both the teams also need full points in their last encounters.
“Only an outright win can push our claim for a berth in the quarterfinals so this match is do-or-die for us,” team’s chief coach Rizwan Shamshad told HT on the eve of the four-day game.
He, however, claimed that Suresh Raina and boys were determined for a win here. “We were a bit unlucky in the mid matches when we despite having opportunity couldn’t score wins, but this isn’t the time to think all such things. Boys are determined to play an aggressive cricket here against bottom-placed Baroda (16 pts).”
Other than the win for UP (18 pts) in the match their fate would also depend on the outcomes of other matches. Even if Punjab and Tamil Nadu get full points and that too with a bonus point, they would require Gujarat to beat Mumbai, and in that case it would be the end of the road of UP this season in ranji Trophy.
Things could have been better for UP, if they had not conceded the first innings lead against Punjab on their home turf in their last match at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur. With a poor batting performance in the first innings, which saw skipper and Team India one-day specialist Suresh Raina getting out on duck, UP failed to surpass Punjab’s first innings total of 272 and got out for 226.
Punjab set a winning target of 342 after scoring 292 in their second innings, UP were starting at defeat as they were 96 for five. Half centuries from Akshdeep Nath and Piyush Chawla helped the side manage a draw at the end.
Though skipper Raina smashed 61 and 145 in the two innings in the match against Tamil Nadu, his failure in matches against Mumbai and Punjab remained a big worry for the side. A big knock from his willow can help UP score an outright win against Baroda.
The track seems to offer good support to spinners UP would be fielding as many as three spinners, including Piyush Chawla, Saurbah Kumar and China man bowler Kuldeep Yadav. Team India discard seamer Praveen Kumar (26 wkts) would be sharing the new ball with Imtiaz Ahmed.