BENGALURU: Vijay Hazare Trophy champions Karnataka feel their chances of adding a Ranji Trophy title to their kitty are in jeopardy this season. The first two league matches, against Madhya Pradesh and against Kerala, ended without completing the first innings. It scored only 2 points. After that, they won against Bihar, lost their first-innings advantage and drew against Bengal, and followed up with three points against Uttar Pradesh.
The red-ball season has resumed after a two-month hiatus, during which two white-ball competitions have been held, but Karnataka’s back is against the wall. There is a good chance that he will miss out on qualifying for the knockout match.
The former champions are in fourth place with 12 points and have two games in hand against Punjab (11 points) and current leaders Haryana (20 points). At least both will have to win. The bonus points you get along the way only strengthen that objective.
They will also be hoping that the results of other games will work in their favor. For example, Haryana and Bengal must be tied for Karnataka to remain in the race.
Coach Yale Goode said, “Having been playing white-ball cricket for two months, our players have to adapt quickly to red-ball cricket.”
With the youngsters adding new impetus to the campaign, Mayank Agarwal and his men will be hoping to finish on a successful note, irrespective of their place in the finals.
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For Punjab, all eyes will be on Shubman Gill, who initially struggled with injuries in Australia but has since bounced back to form and returned 93 points in three matches. The visitors were left out of the equation with 11 points.
