Ranji Trophy knock-out draw

With the Board of Control for Cricket in India having agreed to the request of the Mumbai Cricket Association to seek a postponement of their Ranji Trophy semifinal, the battlelines have been drawn for the knock-out stage of the national competition.

A meeting of the BCCI officials in Baroda on Friday, while acceding to Mumbai's request, also drew up the fixtures for the remaining five matches this season. In the quarterfinals, to be played from March 30, Tamil Nadu meet Punjab at Chennai and Hyderabad play Uttar Pradesh at Kanpur. While Mumbai await the winners of the Tamil Nadu-Punjab match, reigning champions Karnataka clash with the winners of the other quarterfinal. While the semifinal involving Karnataka will commence on April 9, the semifinal involving Mumbai will commence on April 11. The five day final starts on April 19.

The MCA had requested for a two day postponement so that Sachin Tendulkar, their captain, could complete his international engagement - he is a member of the Asian XI to play the Rest of the World at Dhaka on April 8 - and be available for the semifinal. Tendulkar, according to reports, was very keen on playing the semifinal.