Cricket Ranji Trophy Quarter finals: A total of nine teams have qualified for the knockout phase of Ranji Trophy 2021-22.
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A total of nine teams have qualified for the next round of the ongoing season of India’s most prestigious first-class competition, i.e., Ranji Trophy.
It is worth mentioning that as many as 38 teams had contested in three fascinating rounds during the league phase which had been played across eight states (all neutral venues).
The last day of the league phase witnessed some top-notch cricket as multiple teams tried their best to finish at the top of the points table.
For those who are unaware, 38 teams were divided into eight Elite groups comprising of four teams each and one Plate group comprising of six teams. Table-toppers of all the nine teams have qualified for the knockouts.
Cricket Ranji Trophy Quarter finals schedule and fixtures
With this season of the Ranji Trophy being a rare case in terms of teams playing only three matches (as compared to eight previously) in the league stage, another oddness lies in the fact that a large part of the knockout round will be played after a break in which players will take part in Indian Premier League 2022.
While the quarter-finals between eight teams will be played post IPL 2022 (fixtures yet to be announced), a preliminary quarter final between Jharkhand (played league matches in Guwahati) and Nagaland (played league matches in Kolkata) will be played in Kolkata. Yet to face each other in a first-class match, Jharkhand and Nagaland will lock horns between March 12-16.
While the Plate group table-topper (Nagaland) was always supposed to play a preliminary quarter-final, Jharkhand will have to play this match on the back of a lower run quotient. It is noteworthy that both Jharkhand and Uttarakhand (Group E table-topper) were tied at 12 points after the league stage. However, Uttarakhand (1.398) had a better run quotient that Jharkhand (0.958).
Meanwhile, Nagaland will enter their first-ever Ranji Trophy knockout match on the back of winning all three league matches. Readers must note that only Bengal (Group B table-topper) is the other team to have won all three Ranji Trophy 2021-22 league matches.
List of teams qualified for Ranji Trophy Quarter finals 2021-22
Madhya Pradesh, Bengal, Karnataka, Mumbai, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Nagaland.
