Kerala and HP in semi-final shootout
It's still a tight race to the semi-finals as the Plate League enters the final round. A guide to who needs to do what to qualify
07-Dec-2011
With the final round of the Ranji Trophy Plate league in its last stages, only Maharashtra have confirmed their place in the semi-finals. Siddarth Ravindran lists out what the other six contenders must do to give themselves a chance of grabbing the three remaining semi-final slots and then progress to higher ranks.
Group A
Vidarbha - Leaders with 14 points
Group A is tightly contested, with only three points separating the top three teams. An outright win or a draw after securing the first-innings lead against Andhra will be enough to send Vidarbha to the semi-finals. They are almost certain to go through as long as they don't lose the Andhra match. The schedule makes it easier for Vidarbha, as the final league round pits their closest challengers, Kerala and Himachal Pradesh, against each other.
Group A is tightly contested, with only three points separating the top three teams. An outright win or a draw after securing the first-innings lead against Andhra will be enough to send Vidarbha to the semi-finals. They are almost certain to go through as long as they don't lose the Andhra match. The schedule makes it easier for Vidarbha, as the final league round pits their closest challengers, Kerala and Himachal Pradesh, against each other.
Kerala - Second with 13 points
After a slow start to the campaign, Kerala have thrived at home, hanging on in two of the most exciting matches of the season to stay in contention. Their final pair blocked 125 deliveries to salvage a draw against Services, and they pulled off a hair-raising two-run win over Andhra last week. That leaves them with a straight shoot-out against HP. The team which does better will qualify irrespective of other results.
After a slow start to the campaign, Kerala have thrived at home, hanging on in two of the most exciting matches of the season to stay in contention. Their final pair blocked 125 deliveries to salvage a draw against Services, and they pulled off a hair-raising two-run win over Andhra last week. That leaves them with a straight shoot-out against HP. The team which does better will qualify irrespective of other results.
Himachal Pradesh - Third with 12 points
It's been an up-and-down season for HP, beginning with an innings-victory over Tripura before tripping up in a tight game against Vidarbha. They are pretty much in the same situation as Kerala, needing to get at least the first-innings lead in a draw to stay in the competition. One result neither Kerala nor HP want is a draw with the teams not completing their first innings - that will eliminate both teams in the event of an Andhra victory.
It's been an up-and-down season for HP, beginning with an innings-victory over Tripura before tripping up in a tight game against Vidarbha. They are pretty much in the same situation as Kerala, needing to get at least the first-innings lead in a draw to stay in the competition. One result neither Kerala nor HP want is a draw with the teams not completing their first innings - that will eliminate both teams in the event of an Andhra victory.
Andhra - Fourth with nine points
Three runs more against Kerala last week and Andhra would have been tied at the top of the table. Instead they are lagging in fourth and left needing nothing less than an outright victory against current leaders Vidarbha. The good news for them is that a win will almost certainly take them to the semi-finals: they would be tied on points (14) with Vidarbha but would have more victories; and in case Kerala are also on 14 (a draw with HP after conceding first-innings lead), Andhra are likely to have a better quotient than Kerala. An innings victory will guarantee a semi-final place.
Three runs more against Kerala last week and Andhra would have been tied at the top of the table. Instead they are lagging in fourth and left needing nothing less than an outright victory against current leaders Vidarbha. The good news for them is that a win will almost certainly take them to the semi-finals: they would be tied on points (14) with Vidarbha but would have more victories; and in case Kerala are also on 14 (a draw with HP after conceding first-innings lead), Andhra are likely to have a better quotient than Kerala. An innings victory will guarantee a semi-final place.
Points table
| Teams | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | Draw | Aban | Pts | Quotient | For | Against |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vidarbha | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 1.537 | 1867/40 | 1974/65 |
| Kerala | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 1.051 | 1387/59 | 1498/67 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 1.203 | 1722/50 | 2118/74 |
| Andhra | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 1.122 | 1898/75 | 1399/62 |
| Services | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0.808 | 1755/66 | 1777/54 |
| Tripura | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.636 | 1875/78 | 1738/46 |
Group B
Maharashtra - Qualified, 17 points
Hyderabad - Second with 15 points
An ignominious 54 all out in the course of a thrashing by Maharashtra hasn't stopped Hyderabad from staying in the race. They bounced back in style, with successive innings victories, first over Assam, and then over Goa. They are already almost sure of making the semi-finals - one point in their final league match against Jammu & Kashmir will confirm it.
An ignominious 54 all out in the course of a thrashing by Maharashtra hasn't stopped Hyderabad from staying in the race. They bounced back in style, with successive innings victories, first over Assam, and then over Goa. They are already almost sure of making the semi-finals - one point in their final league match against Jammu & Kashmir will confirm it.
Goa - Third with nine points
The scenarios in Group B are far simpler than in the other Group A as the top two have opened out a big lead. The only team with even a slim chance of catching them is Goa. In their final league match against bottom-placed Jharkhand, Goa need an innings victory, and also need struggling J&K to pull off a victory over Hyderabad. Even this won't guarantee their progress, it will bring out the calculators to see whether they have boosted their quotient enough to deny Hyderabad.
The scenarios in Group B are far simpler than in the other Group A as the top two have opened out a big lead. The only team with even a slim chance of catching them is Goa. In their final league match against bottom-placed Jharkhand, Goa need an innings victory, and also need struggling J&K to pull off a victory over Hyderabad. Even this won't guarantee their progress, it will bring out the calculators to see whether they have boosted their quotient enough to deny Hyderabad.
Points table
| Teams | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | Draw | Aban | Pts | Quotient | For | Against |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Maharashtra
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 1.508 | 1919/50 | 1731/68 |
| Hyderabad (India) | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 1.704 | 1589/48 | 1185/61 |
| Goa | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0.984 | 1667/60 | 1807/64 |
| Assam | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0.737 | 1761/49 | 1415/29 |
| Jammu & Kashmir | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0.706 | 1547/44 | 1694/34 |
| Jharkhand | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0.603 | 1397/43 | 2048/38 |