In-form
Jharkhand
will be firm favourites when they take on
Nagaland
in the only pre-quarterfinals of the 2021-22 season of
Ranji Trophy starting at
Eden Gardens
in Kolkata on Saturday.
The match, which will decide the final quarterfinalists of the premier domestic meet, also marks Nagaland's first pre-quarters appearance in their short history of the tournament.
Opening their campaign with a loss to Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand made a brilliant comeback, winning next two games against illustrious opponents Delhi and Tamil Nadu to make the knockouts from Elite Group H.
Nagaland, on the other hand, enjoyed an all-win record in three matches of Plate Group. They will be eager to continue their journey further by getting it past Jharkhand to enter the last-eight stage - an unchartered territory for the minnows.
Jharkhand captain
Saurabh Tiwary has led his team from the front so far. The veteran southpaw was adjudged the man of the match for his half-centuries against TN, which helped his team to a two-wicket win for the ticket to the pre-quarters.
Apart from Tiwary, left-arm spinner
Shahbaz Nadeem, all-rounder Anukul Roy, batter Virat Singh and pacers Ashish Kumar and Rahul Shukla will be the men Jharkhand will bank upon for a result in their favour.
As for Rongsen Jonathan-led Nagaland, professional batters Chetan Bisht and Srikanth Munde's form will be crucial to their fate in the match. The Eden pitch is generally good for batting and pacers should get some pace and bounce from the track with spinners coming into play gradually.
Playing their group matches in Kolkata, Nagaland's familiarity with the pitch at the Eden as well as the weather can be an added advantage for them. However, they need to take their performance a few notches up to upset Jharkhand for a win and thereby continue their run in the prestigious event.
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