Vijay Hazare Trophy 2019-20, Road to Quarterfinals: Karnataka, Puducherry, Delhi, Gujarat, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Mumbai

On October 20, Karnataka will play Puducherry in the first quarterfinal of the 2019-20 Vijay Hazare Trophy, at Khalsa Cricket Ground, Amritsar, while Delhi will play Gujarat in the second, at Just Cricket, Bengaluru. On the next day, Punjab will play Tamil Nadu in the third, at Bokakhat Districts Sports Association Ground, Bokakhat, while Chhattisgarh and Mumbai will face off in the fourth, at Alur Cricket Stadium III, Alur.

Karnataka

Buoyed by a near-full squad (KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Shreyas Gopal, Prasidh Krishna, Krishnappa Gowtham), Karnataka won 7 of their 8 matches (including their last 5 matches) in Elite Group A, topping the composite A and B Groups with a 6-point margin.

So dominant have Karnataka been that they have won all their matches by either at least 50 runs or by at least 9 wickets. Their only defeat came against Hyderabad, by 21 runs.

Star players: Manish Pandey (505 runs at 101, SR 107), Prasidh Krishna (16 wickets at 14.06, economy 4.02)

League record: Won 7, lost 1, NRR +1.170, rank 1

Puducherry

Puducherry emerged at the top of the Plate Group, simultaneously earning a berth in Elite Group C for next year’s trophy. Like Uttarakhand, they finished undefeated, but they got to play 6 matches (out of their 8) to Uttarakhand’s 5. Puducherry bowled out Uttarakhand for 172 when the sides had clashed, but there was no subsequent play.

Despite some comfortable wins in a low-scoring league (two by 10 wickets, two by 9 wickets), Puducherry are up against Karnataka, the most formidable side of the tournament so far.

Star players: Arun Karthik (262 runs at 87.33, strike rate 128), Sagar Udeshi (17 wickets at 10, economy 2.59)

League record: Won 6, no result 2, NRR +3.626

Delhi

Delhi had seemed out of the hunt after losing to Uttar Pradesh and Vidarbha. However, but they beat Punjab (a thriller), Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh – all in their geographical vicinity – in their last three matches to qualify, that too as the third-placed team in the composite Elite Group.

Star players: Nitish Rana (278 runs at 55.60, strike rate 85, 12 wickets at 14.50, economy 3.71), Lalit Yadav (133 runs at 66.50, strike rate 102, 4 wickets at 24, economy 3.69)

League record: Won 5, lost 2, NR 1, NRR +0.306

Gujarat

Gujarat won 8 of their 9 matches in Elite Group C, losing only their last match, to Tamil Nadu. There were not many overwhelming victories for them, they did win 8 in a row, a mark of their consistency. However, Delhi will be a tougher nut to crack.

Star players: Axar Patel (231 runs at 57.75, strike rate 107, 10 wickets at 39.40, economy 4.52), Roosh Kalaria (20 wickets at 14, economy 3.85)

League record: Won 8, lost 1, NRR +1.246

Punjab

Punjab edged ahead of Delhi and Chhattisgarh in net run rate to finish at second spot in the Composite Elite Group. They lost to Himachal Pradesh and Delhi, both by narrow margins, but their victories included bowling out Haryana for 49 and Maharashtra for 65.

Star players: Sandeep Sharma (16 wickets at 13.93, economy 3.75), Gurkeerat Singh (192 runs at 38.40, strike rate 75, 4 wickets at 25.50, economy 4.25)

League record: Won 5, lost 2, NR 1, NRR +0.804

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu might be an Elite Group C entry, but they have won all 9 of their group matches by convincing margins. All their wins have been at margins of 70 runs or more (including three of 180 or more runs) or by 7 or more wickets. Punjab will have their job cut out.

Star players: Dinesh Karthik (349 runs at 87.25, strike rate 136, 14 dismissals), T Natarajan (11 wickets at 26.27, economy 4.07)

League record: Won 9, NRR +1.869

Chhattisgarh

Chhattisgarh produced the upset of the season by stunning Mumbai in their first match. Since then they have lost to Karnataka and Kerala but have been impressive otherwise, defeating everyone else. However, they will be facing Mumbai again now…

Star players: Ashutosh Singh (368 runs at 61.33, strike rate 83), Sumit Ruikar (10 wickets at 22.40, economy 4.81)

League record: Won 5, lost 2, NR 1, NRR +0.066

Mumbai

Mumbai will take field to avenge their defeat this time. They sneaked through to the top eight, just ahead of Uttar Pradesh in net run rate, with wins in their last two matches. However, given their ability to win big matches, they may well become the team to beat from here.

Star players: Yashasvi Jaiswal (504 runs at 100.80, strike rate 100), Shams Mulani (12 wickets at 22.50, economy 4.90)

League record: Won 4, lost 2, NR 2, NRR +0.832