Karnataka, Mumbai qualify for Vijay Hazare Trophy quarter-finals; Tamil Nadu knocked out
The group stage of the 2020-21 Vijay Hazare Trophy came to an end on Monday, with teams learning their quarter-final fate.
Gujarat, Andhra, Karnataka, Mumbai and Saurashtra qualified for the last eight of the Vijay Hazare Trophy as Elite group winners. Andhra were one of four teams to end their Elite Group B engagements with 12 points, but their superior net run rate (0.732) saw them edge out Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh.
The quintet is joined in the final eight by Uttar Pradesh and Kerala, as the two teams finished with the most points and best net run rate of all Elite Group teams.
The final spot in the Vijay Hazare Trophy quarter-final is still up for grabs, with the winner of the game between Delhi and Uttarakhand to complete the last eight lineup. Uttarakhand pipped Assam to qualify for the pre-quarterfinals owing to a better net run rate.
Vijay Hazare Trophy qualification format
This year’s edition of the Vijay Hazare Trophy has seen the table-toppers from each Elite group make the quarter-finals.
Gujarat topped Elite Group A with 20 points and are just one of two Elite group teams to remain unbeaten in the Vijay Hazare Trophy this season.
Andhra (12 points) and Karnataka (16 points) joined Gujarat from Elite Group B and C, respectively. Mumbai, the Elite Group D winners, are the other unbeaten team in the pool with 20 points.
Uttar Pradesh and Kerala went through as the teams with the most points (16 points apiece) out of all the teams in the Vijay Hazare Trophy owing to their superior net run rate (NRR). Baroda narrowly missed out, as their NRR of 0.399 was marginally less than that of Delhi (0.507)
The final quarter-final spot in this season's Vijay Hazare Trophy will be decided after Delhi, who finished second in Elite Group D, take on Plate Group table-toppers Uttarakhand. Although Delhi go into the game as the favourites, Uttarakhand are yet to lose a game in the competition this season.
When will the Vijay Hazare trophy quarter-finals take place?
The Vijay Hazare Trophy group stage was held across multiple cities, but all four quarter-finals will take place in New Delhi.
The knockout matches will begin from March 7, starting with the pre-quarterfinal between Delhi and Uttarakhand. All four quarter-finals will be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium and the Palam Ground in New Delhi.
With the fixture list for the Vijay Hazare Trophy quarter-finals yet to be announced, here is the tentative schedule:
March 7: Pre Quarter-Finals from 9:00 AM IST.
March 8: Quarter-Final 1 from 9:00 AM IST.
March 8: Quarter-Final 2 from 9:00 AM IST.
March 9: Quarter-Final 3 from 9:00 AM IST.
March 9: Quarter-Final 4 from 9:00 AM IST.