Ranji Trophy Super League: Group A tantalisingly poised

At the end of the second round of the Ranji Trophy Super League matches on Saturday, the qualifying spots for the next stage of the competition are up for grabs with opportunities still existing for the laggards in the points table to catch up with the leaders. The matches are also getting more result oriented with three of the five ending decisively and Bengal only just failing to pull off a deserving victory over Delhi.

The battle for supremacy in Group A is hotting up, what with Karnataka rebounding swiftly from the bitter experience against Mumbai to dispatch Rajasthan by 139 runs. Unfortunately the well oiled machine that bested Rajasthan is unrecognisable without its Test stars who will be away on national duty during the key games that follow against Bengal and Delhi. The paucity of Karnataka's bench strength was evident in the opener against Mumbai. Rahul Dravid, who tuned himself for the more testing times ahead with two dazzling efforts that netted 71 and 149 will be sorely missed. But with Venkatesh Prasad being dropped from the Test squad and Arun Kumar returning as opener after turning out for the Board President's XI in Mumbai this week, Karnataka have enough ammunition for the battles ahead.

Delhi kept their hopes alive after stout resistance by their lower order frustrated Bengal's late surge towards victory. An hour and quarter into the final day Delhi were 109/5, with 48 still needed to make Bengal bat again. At tea they were still not out of danger at 217/7, only 79 ahead. But they lived to fight another day as Bengal, chasing 124 from a maximum of 13 overs, ran out of steam after accelerating to 82/4. But despite the disappointment Bengal should still be a cinch to go through to the next stage since by some quirk of the draw they enjoy home advantage for all their four games. Saurav Ganguly led from the front opening with the ball in Delhi's second innings and then with the bat when Bengal's turn followed.

In Group B, Hyderabad failed to maximise the advantage of playing on home turf against Bihar and settled for first innings points. Indeed Bihar posted a respectable total of 381 first up but they gave away the initiative by allowing the Hyderabad openers to construct an opening stand of 164. In the other game in Delhi, Railways made a hash of their first appearance in the Super League. They began by doing all the right things, winning the toss and running up 506 on a flat wicket. But playing in their own backyard, their bowlers failed to deliver the killer punch despite taking wickets at periodic intervals. Each time Baroda were allowed to regroup and come back into the game and their last pair surpassed the Railways total late on the final evening. The attack was rendered toothless in the absence of Murali Kartik and Railways will just have to get used to the thought that they will now have to endure a longer period of separation from their strike bowler. The result enabled Baroda to take a clear lead at the top of the table with 13 points from two matches.

Upwardly mobile Uttar Pradesh found themselves at the top of the Group C points table after a 10 wicket pounding of Orissa. Captain Gyanendra Pandey reaffirmed that he can be a matchwinner with both bat and ball, at this level at any rate, contributing 163 runs with the willow and five wickets with the ball. There were a couple of standout individual performances for Orissa, from Sanjay Raul (108 not out and 82), who was good enough to play two onedayers for the national side in Toronto last year, and rookie offspinner Sanjay Satpathy who bagged a six wicket haul. Having played just one match, Orissa is not out of the reckoning by a long chalk. They will be glad to welcome back Debashish Mohanty who can give undivided attention to the fortunes of his state side after being jettisoned from the Test squad.

At Rohtak, Saurashtra bearded Haryana in their own den to open their account in the points table. Having tasted defeat against Tamil Nadu, this should give them the confidence to tackle their remaining oppenents, UP and Orissa, at home after having to travel away for their first two games. All rounder Hitesh Parsana and batsmen Prakash Bhatt and Sitanshu Kotak are all at the top of their game. Haryana's fortunes have steadily declined since their crowning as the champion side in the Ranji Trophy less than a decade ago and they presently lack the firepower to inflict damage on opponents of inferior pedigree.