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Ranji Trophy round two: Delhi meet leaders Gujarat, Bengal face Services
The second round of the Elite group stage runs from 18 to 21 October. Four teams lead their groups with seven points after innings or ten-wicket wins in round one.
Key points
- Round two of the Ranji Trophy runs from 18 to 21 October.
- Mumbai, top of Group D, play bottom side Himachal Pradesh.
- Defending champions Jammu and Kashmir take on Vidarbha after a narrow escape in Srinagar.
The Ranji Trophy’s second round of Elite group matches runs from Sunday, 18 October, to Wednesday, 21 October, with four sides already carrying the maximum seven points from the opening week.
Uttar Pradesh and Baroda lead Group A after innings wins over Bihar and Goa. Hyderabad top Group B after beating Tripura by an innings, Gujarat lead Group C after a ten-wicket win over Odisha, and Mumbai head Group D after thrashing Chandigarh by an innings and 155 runs.
The games to watch
Delhi, beaten by nine wickets at Kalyani, need a response against Gujarat in Group C. Bengal, who won that match on the back of big first-innings hundreds from Abishek Porel and Sudip Kumar Gharami, play Services, who lost to Maharashtra.
In Group D, Mumbai take on Himachal Pradesh, who lost to Haryana by seven wickets and sit bottom with no points.
Group B pits Karnataka against Saurashtra after both were held to draws. Karnataka needed Karun Nair’s unbeaten 155 to save their match against Andhra, who now play Hyderabad.
Defending champions Jammu and Kashmir, seven down and hanging on against Madhya Pradesh in Srinagar, meet Vidarbha, who beat Puducherry by 160 runs.
What is at stake
The 32 Elite teams are split into four groups of eight, and each plays seven matches. Only the top two in each group reach the quarter-finals, so an early lead counts. The first phase runs until 5 November, and the competition resumes on 17 January.
Group leaders after round one