Qualification scenarios for teams in Group C of the Ranji Trophy 2013-14

Alagappan Muthu29-Dec-2013Himachal Pradesh put up a spirited show, but will not qualify for the quarter-finals•ESPNcricinfo

Points and tie-breaker

• Innings victory or win by 10 wickets – 7 (for winners) and 0 (for losers)

• Other outright wins – 6 and 0

• First-innings lead in a draw – 3 and 1

• First innings not completed – 1 and 1

• If teams are equal on points at the end of the league, the number of wins will be the first tie-breaker. If that is also equal, the quotient is taken into account. A team’s quotient is arrived at by a set of divisions: runs scored against wickets lost divided by runs conceded against wickets taken.

Maharashtra –
Their place at the top of the table is not quite airtight yet, though qualification is almost certain. Maharashtra’s final match is against seventh-placed Assam and all they need to progress is to avoid defeat. For them to get knocked out, things have to go badly wrong: they should lose, J&K – who are on their heels with 25 points – should win and Goa should get a bonus-point victory over Andhra.Jammu & Kashmir –
They have one more win – four from seven matches – than Maharashtra but with two losses, they are in second place. Their final match is against Tripura, who have only one point in the season so far. They will fancy their chances of an outright win, which will guarantee qualification. A draw after taking the first-innings lead will take them to 28 points, which will not be enough if Goa take seven points from their last match. It will come down to the quotient if Goa get six points, and J&K three.Goa –
The dark horse in this race, their bid for the quarter-finals hinges on a win in their final match. They do have the advantage of hosting their last match, but their opponents, Andhra have been beaten only once in the season. It could become a straight fight with J&K for the second qualifying spot, but the permutations will come into play only if Goa win outright.Kerala –
An outside chance of finishing in the top two, Kerala need an outright win in their final game and would need several favourable results elsewhere as well. Both J&K and Goa will have to lose their final match and remain stagnant on the points table, for Kerala to leapfrog them into second place.

Group C table