Mumbai has won the Ranji Trophy 41 times. To win its 42nd title, it will have to wait till next year at least.
We can say that with certainty even with a round of matches in the preliminary league remaining this season. That was after Mumbai failed in its desperate bid to force a win against Saurashtra on Friday at Rajkot, though it was just three wickets away.
Only on February 15, when the matches in the last round conclude, would we know who will advance to the knock-out stages and who will be relegated. Mumbai’s conqueror Saurashtra and Gujarat have already done enough to book their places in the last eight, with a game in hand.
The top five teams, out of the 18, from the top tier, combining Groups A and B, will reach the quarterfinals. Going into the final round, Gujarat is leading the table with 29 points, followed by Saurashtra at 28.
All to play for
The race for the remaining three spots is wide open. Andhra, placed third at the moment with 27 points, looks best-placed to claim one of those berths. Even if it loses its away game to Gujarat it will still have a chances to make it.
Bengal (26), Karnataka (25) and Punjab (24) are better-placed than the others. Uttar Pradesh (20), Tamil Nadu (19), defending champion Vidarbha (18) and Delhi (18) will not have just have to win their matches but need favourable results from others.
Kerala, which had qualified for the knock-out stages for the last two seasons, is one team that could afford to follow the final round of matches with total disinterest. It is already relegated to Group C, having drawn its last match with Vidarbha at Nagpur, where inclement weather made even the completion of the first innings impossible.
One more team will join Kerala from Groups A and B. It could either be Hyderabad, which is lying last with six points, five below Madhya Pradesh.
From Group C, one team will be relegated to the Plate Division. It will be either Uttarakhand (two points) or Tripura (six).
Two teams from the group will make the quarterfinals. Jammu & Kashmir (39 points), Odisha (35), Services (33), Haryana (30) and Maharashtra (28) all can afford to hope.
From the Plate Group, one team will advance to the last eight. Goa (43 points), Pondicherry (41) and Chandigarh (36) are the leading contenders.
It would be interesting to follow the final round of 18 matches in the preliminary league of India’s premier domestic tournament, starting on February 12.
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