PUNE:, DHNS: Defending champs need at least a first-innings lead to progress. Exactly two months ago, champions Karnataka began their Ranji Trophy campaign as firm favourites to retain the title, when they took on Assam at the Bars­apara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. Seven matches into the season, Karnataka’s fight for a quarterfinal berth has been anything but smooth.

Pegged back by injuries to key players and unfriendly pitches, skipper Vinay Kumar’s boys have found it hard to churn out outright wins as effortlessly as they did in the previous seasons. As they gear up to face hosts Maharashtra in their final Group ‘A’ encounter here at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium from Tuesday, Karnataka have the perfect opportunity to produce a winning performance and sign off their group phase on a positive note.

With two wins and five draws, Karnataka have managed to accumulate 24 points and the visitors will need to make sure they get at least three points if not a victory in this crucial encounter, to seal their place in the last eight stage.

In case of a defeat, it will be curtains for Karnataka, bringing an end to a sensational unbeaten streak of 34 matches spanning three seasons.

Despite finding it difficult to earn a full complement of points on a consistent basis, Karnataka have done well to remain unbeaten this season. A strong batting show has been the biggest plus for the side and the players have also displayed great team spirit when it has mattered. A victory in their final group game will give the visitors the much-needed momentum before the start of the quarterfinals.

On a surface that seems to be a batting friendly, Karnataka will hope for another dominant show from their in-form batsmen. Robin Uthappa has been in menacing touch, scoring three back to back centuries and the right-hander, who didn’t take the field after his blazing 148 against Delhi in the previous game due to a muscle pull near the rib, has been declared fit for this match.

Karnataka have retained the 15-member squad that was announced for the match against Delhi last week in Hubballi. The pace quartet of Vinay, Abhimany Mithun, S Arvind and HS Sharath worked in tandem to enforce a follow on against Delhi and the visitors might fancy their chances going in with the same combination for this tie.

Maharashtra, who are lying a lowly eighth in the table with 11 points, will be without their captain Rohit Motwane, who has been ruled with a finger injury. Experienced campaigner Kedar Jadhav will lead the side in the absence of Motwane. Medium pacer Samad Fallah has been dropped, following an average season and the hosts will be looking to give some youngsters a hit in this game.

The previous game at this venue between Maharashtra and Assam was hit by heavy showers but the weather forecast seems promising for this tie. Interestingly, Karnataka thumped Maharashtra by eight wickets in a must win encounter in the 2012-2013 season and the defending champions will eye an encore of the tie to come out victorious.

Teams (from): Karnataka: Vinay Kumar (captain), CM Gautam, Mayank Agarwal, R Samarth, Robin Uthappa, Karun Nair, Manish Pandey, J Suchith, Shreyas Gopal, Abhimanyu Mithun, Abhishek Reddy, S Arvind, David Mathias, HS Sharath, Udit Patel.

Maharashtra: Swapnil Gugale, Chirag Khurana, S Atitkar, Rahul Tripathi, Ankit Bawane, Kedar Jadhav. Shrikant Mundhe, Anupam Sanklecha, Naushad Shaikh, SM Kazi, Bharatkumar Solanki, NR Dhumal, Vismant More, Akshay Darekar.

Hours of play: 9:30 am to 12:00 pm; 12:40 to 2:40 pm and 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm.

Photo credit: DHNS