NAGPUR: After a commanding start to their campaign, Vidarbha had the advantage. It looked like they were the top contenders to make it to the knockouts after two consecutive wins.
However, things went awry with a loss against Jammu & Kashmir playing on the home turf. If this defeat in their own den after 8 years was not enough, they lost to Madhya Pradesh in Indore last week. Now, the Faiz Fazal-led side is in a delicate situation and no player can afford to commit a mistake.
With 2 back-to-back losses, they have put themselves in a situation where they will have to win all the remaining three Ranji Trophy games to 'safely' advance in the tournament.
From Tuesday, they take on Chandigarh, the bottom placed team in Group D, in Chandigarh.
Vidarbha struggled in all departments when the temperature was below 10 degree celcius in Indore. Now, they will be playing in more or less similar challenging conditions as North India is experiencing cold wave. Faiz would want his boys to up their game no matter what conditions are on offer. Victory in Chandigarh is a must to keep their campaign alive.
After the two Ranji Trophy titles that Vidarbha won, they have not even played the knockouts in the next two seasons. Now, it is their third season after those two successful years and they will look for a change of fortunes with a win in Chandigarh, Nagpur and Mohali (in sequence), where they will play the next three games.
