Ranji Trophy 2024-25 Qualification Scenarios: What Mumbai, Karnataka and other teams need to reach quarterfinals?
The Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season heads into the final round of the group stage with big teams Mumbai and Karnataka yet to seal a place in the last-eight stage.
The Ajinkya Rahane-led Mumbai lost to Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) in the sixth round which dented its hopes of making the knockouts. On the other hand, though Karnataka earned a bonus-point win, it was still not through to the next round.
So far, only Vidarbha has confirmed its place in the quarterfinals. The top two teams from each group will qualify.
Sportstar takes you through what teams need to do across the four groups to make the quarterfinals.
Group A
Only three teams are in the hunt for the quarterfinals in this group — J&K (29 points), Baroda (24 points) and Mumbai (22 points).
J&K faces Baroda in the final round and the winner will advance. For J&K, even one point will be enough to advance. However, for Baroda, a draw might not be enough. Even if it takes three points via a first-innings lead, it can get knocked if Mumbai wins (with or without a bonus point).
Mumbai faces Meghalaya and needs a win to qualify. However, if Baroda beats J&K, Mumbai will need to win with a bonus point and hope its Quotient goes above J&K’s, meaning Baroda and Mumbai will advance.
Group B
Vidarbha sealed a remarkable comeback win against Rajasthan in the sixth round and moved to the knockouts on Sunday.
Only Gujarat (26 points) and Himachal Pradesh (21 points) are in contention to make the last eight and both face each other. The winner will go through to the next phase.
Group C
Haryana leads Group C with 26 points followed by Kerala at 21 points and Karnataka at 19 points. Haryana and Karnataka play each other in the final round while Kerala takes on Bihar.
Haryana will be through to the quarterfinals with just one point. However, if it loses, it has to hope Kerala does not get more than three points against Bihar.
For Kerala, a draw with a first-innings lead will be enough if Karnataka does not win its game against Haryana.
Meanwhile, Karnataka needs to win and hope Kerala only draws against Bihar.
Group D
Tamil Nadu leads the group with 25 points and its needs a win or a draw to advance irrespective of other results.
Chandigarh (19), Saurashtra (18) and Railways (17) occupy the second, third and fourth spots, respectively. If Chandigarh wins its last match against Chhattisgarh with a bonus point, the other two will be knocked out.
However, if Chandigarh wins and gets six points and Saurashtra wins against Assam with a bonus points, the team with the better Quotient will go through.
For Railways to advance, it needs to beat Delhi and hope Chandigarh and Saurashta do not a win.
Jharkhand and Delhi are mathematically still in the hunt too. They have 14 points each and can go through if all other teams above them lose.
