Ranji Trophy: Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh clash for quarterfinal berth

NEW DELHI: The final Ranji Trophy league match between Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, which begins in Ahmedabad on Thursday, is expected to be a high-stakes match as they compete for the final quarterfinal position from Elite Group B. With a spectacular 221-run comeback victory over Rajasthan in the previous round, Group B leaders Vidarbha (34 points) have already guaranteed their spot in the knockout stages.Gujarat (26 points) and Himachal Pradesh (21 points) are now the focus of attention. These two teams are still in the running to join Vidarbha in the round of eight.At the same time, Andhra (7), Uttarakhand (10), Rajasthan (16), Hyderabad (16), and Puducherry (3) are eliminated.After suffering a humiliating innings-and-43-run loss to lowly-placed Hyderabad that dashed their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages, Himachal Pradesh, who have struggled with consistency throughout the season, must recover. An extremely aggressive attitude cost the team led by Rishi Dhawan.With 549 runs in six games, left-handed batsman Ankit Kalsi, who earlier in the season achieved an unbeaten double century, has been Himachal's most impressive player. In this crucial match, it will be up to him and the starting lineup to perform.Gujarat, meanwhile, will go into the game full of confidence following a commanding innings-and-28-run victory over Uttarakhand.The highlight of Gujarat's victory was left-arm spinner Siddharth Desai, who amassed an incredible 9 for 36, the highest total of any Gujarat player in first-class cricket.Rinkesh Vaghela (3/63) and Vishal Jayswal (3/71) provided him with strong support, and the squad will be counting on a similar showing, particularly without spinner Ravi Bishnoi, who is still playing for India against England in the T20I series.Regardless of the final league-round results, two-time winners Vidarbha will advance as the top-ranked team from Group B and have already secured their quarterfinal spot. Their last league match is against Hyderabad at Nagpur.Vidarbha's main batsmen have been middle-order Yash Rathod (583 runs) and captain Akshay Wadkar (517), while all-rounder Harsh Dubey, 22, has made an impact with the ball.Dubey has taken 47 wickets at an incredible average of 14.55 this season, making him the top wicket-taker.