Kerala on verge of entering Ranji Trophy quarterfinals after pre-COVID era

Kerala captain Sachin Baby is confident his side can continue the momentum achieved in the Ranji Trophy and secure the quarterfinal berth with a positive result against Bihar starting Thursday (Jan 30).

Kerala are second in Group C on 21 points, behind Haryana on 26. A win against strugglers Bihar will give Kerala a place in the knockouts for the first time since the 2019-20 season when they went on to play the semifinals. Karnataka, with 19 points, could advance at the expense of Kerala if they beat Haryana and Bihar win at the same time.

But the Kerala skipper doesn't want to take that chance. "We will definitely try to win the next match and advance to the knockouts. Bihar are a good side, they denied us the lead last season so we must do our best," Sachin told Onmanorama.

Kerala are unbeaten in the Ranji this season with a win and four draws, the latest of which required them to dig deep into their resources last week against Madhya Pradesh. Kerala took a 7-run lead in the match, but Madhya Pradesh fought back to post 369. Kerala were on the verge of defeat before Aditya Sarwate (80) and Mohammed Azharuddeen (68) stepped up to save the day.

"We have played well this season; there were a couple of washouts earlier when we had the upper hand. But it was important to get crucial points from the last match," skipper Sachin said.  

Kerala would take confidence from the fact that veteran all-rounder Jalaj Saxena ended a rare rough patch to get a valuable 32 in the second innings against Madhya Pradesh. About 50 per cent of the current squad, comprising Saxena, Mohammed Azharuddeen and MD Nidheesh, was part of the side led by Sachin that reached the Ranji knockouts the last time.

Karnataka's play
Karnataka have called upon India cricketer KL Rahul for their crucial match against Haryana at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Karnataka could take their tally up to 26 points if they secure a victory with a bonus point (6 for win, 1 bonus).

If that happens and Kerala win their match against Bihar, table-toppers Haryana will exit, shockingly. A win, even without a bonus, will take Kerala to 27 points and put them on top of the table. As Karnataka and Haryana will then be tied on 26 points each, the tie-breaker will be the most bonus points, which will favour Karnataka (2 against 1). Until last season, head-to-head record was considered for a tie-break.

In other scenarios, should Karnataka take six points, taking their tally to 25, they need Kerala to either draw without innings lead or lose to Bihar. If Karnataka and Haryana play out a draw, the hosts would need the first innings points to take their tally to 22. In that case, Karnataka will qualify only if Kerala lose.