Underdogs Hyderabad eye Mumbai coup

Karnataka v Tamil Nadu

The south Indian powerhouses have had a storied rivalry with no quarters asked for and none given. That they have faced each other only twice in the knockouts of the Ranji Trophy - in the 1995-96 final in Chennai and the 2014-15 final in Mumbai - sharpens the edge for their third meeting in the quarter-final in Visakhapatnam.

Karnataka had secured the trophy in both finals, and current captain Vinay Kumar said his team held the "extra advantage" with the return of India internationals - Karun Nair, KL Rahul and Manish Pandey.

The last time these two teams met, in the title bout in 2014-15, a hobbling Rahul struck 188 and Nair made 328 - the highest individual score in a Ranji final. Pandey has been troubled by injuries this season, but is known to come good at crunch times.

Tamil Nadu, on the other hand, will not have their marquee players for this marquee clash: both M Vijay and R Ashwin are out injured. On the eve of the match, the surface had a smattering of grass, and Vinay hinted his side could play four seamers and Stuart Binny, which means legspinner Shreyas Gopal could miss the cut.

Tamil Nadu's seam attack is probably green like the track, but Aswin Crist, K Vignesh and T Natarajan have stepped up and adapted to neutral venues. Whether they can step up further at the crunch against international players could have a bearing on the contest.

Vinay, who is the leading wicket-taker among seamers in the history of the Ranji trophy, S Aravind, HS Sharath, Abhimanyu Mithun, and Binny have all been there and done that.

Mumbai v Hyderabad

The stats simply tell the story: Mumbai have won 41 out of 82 Ranji titles. They were unbeaten in the league phase this season, and their ability to thrive under pressure came to the fore during their first match against Tamil Nadu in Lahli. Mumbai had collapsed to 35 for 5 in a chase of 97, but Abhishek Nayar calmly carried his team home with two wickets to spare.

Hyderabad are up against it in Raipur, but they have recent momentum to bank on. In the previous season, they were winless and finished second from the bottom. They have turned the tables this season, finishing the league stage at the top of the Group C table. S Badrinath has been shepherding the youngsters, more or less doing the same job he had done with Vidarbha last season.

The bowling attack looks in good shape with M Ravi Kiran, Mohammed Siraj and Chama Milind sharing 93 wickets between them. The batting, however, looks squishy.

Mumbai also have their share of concerns. Their key man - Shreyas Iyer - has blown hot and cold. Opener Akhil Herwadkar, batsman Shubham Ranjane and seam bowler Dhawal Kulkarni have been ruled out of the quarter-final with injuries. Instead, Mumbai have recalled Kevin Almeida, who recently hit a triple-century in the Purshottam Shield in Bandra, and offspinner Akshay Girap, and called up uncapped batsman Sagar Kerkar.

Gujarat v Odisha

Seam-bowling allrounder Biplab Samantray was only 13 when Odisha last qualified for the knockouts in 2001-02. He has been the clutch player for the team this season with 517 runs and 11 wickets. For a state that has been hit by age-frauds at various levels, this revival comes as a big boost.

Between Odisha and the semi-final stand Gujarat. Apart from Mumbai, Gujarat are the only other team in Group A to have not lost a game. Priyank Panchal has been the torchbearer of Gujarat's campaign this season, racking up 1037 runs in seven matches at 115.22, including a double-century and a triple-century. He needs a further 379 runs to surpass VVS Laxman and become the leading run-getter in a Ranji Trophy season.

Parthiv Patel, who returned to the India team after more than eight years, is now back to lead his state team. He too has been among the runs in this first-class season, making 719 at an average of just over 50. If Odisha fail to find a way past Panchal and Parthiv, it might be the end of the road for them.

Jharkhand v Haryana

Jharkhand veered away from the safely-first approach, and pushed for more outright wins this season. In 2015-16, they had finished second in Group C to earn a promotion. That they pressed on to top Group B in this season neatly encapsulates their campaign.

Ishan Kishan has led the way with the bat with 633 runs in eight matches at a strike-rate of nearly 80. With Varun Aaron out of most parts of the season, Ashish Kumar rose to become the spearhead of the attack.

Haryana, on the other hand, have largely relied on first-innings advantages with contributions coming from all quarters. Nitin Saini and Shubham Rohilla have been solid at the top of the order, with former Services player Rajat Paliwal being the glue in the middle order.

Mohit Sharma and Yuzvendra Chahal have also impressed, knocking on the doors of the selectors for a return to the national team. Jayant Yadav has not been named in the squad for the quarter-final, but Amit Mishra's inclusion adds more experience and heft to the attack.