Karnataka and Punjab will meet in a must-win Ranji Trophy Elite Group C match on the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru from Thursday.
The host is positioned fourth (12 factors) and has had a irritating time this season, thwarted by unhealthy climate within the first two matches. The customer is fifth (11) and has suffered three losses to Kerala, Haryana and Bengal. The tie is thus all-important in both outfit’s quest to complete within the top-two and qualify for the quarterfinals.
On match-eve, Punjab coach Wasim Jaffer was agency in his perception that the pitch was result-oriented. Going by present kind, Karnataka seems higher positioned to take benefit, the presence of Shubman Gill within the opposition ranks however.
Simply 5 days in the past, Karnataka received its fifth Vijay Hazare Trophy and the aspect that’s anticipated to take the sector in opposition to Punjab will roughly be a facsimile of the limited-overs squad. There could also be just a few drained our bodies, however all of them will likely be brimming with confidence.
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The competition would be the first in red-ball cricket for Karnataka in what seems to be the post-Manish Pandey period. However in R. Smaran and Ok.V. Aneesh, the staff appears to have discovered proficient batting personnel to hold the legacy ahead.
Check cricketers Devdutt Padikkal and Prasidh Krishna will add muscle at the same time as leg-spinning all-rounder Shreyas Gopal and pacer V. Koushik work their magic.
Punjab, alternatively, exited the Hazare Trophy within the quarters, and didn’t get out of the group stage within the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy of which it was the defending champion.
It’s a younger aspect, and there will likely be no Arshdeep Singh and Abhishek Sharma, each of whom are away on India obligation. However it’s a handicap Punjab has had all marketing campaign, for Arshdeep has featured in simply two First Class video games and Abhishek none.