Urgent UP v resurgent Karnataka

One of the Super League quarter-finalists could be identified over the next four potentially intriguing days in Bangalore. Uttar Pradesh, who are one point ahead of Karnataka and one behind leaders Tamil Nadu, will know that this is their last match, while the other contenders have a game in hand. Karnataka, on the other hand, were not expected to be in the running after the initial rounds but Rahul Dravid and Sunil Joshi have led their team's comeback. Dravid, however, won't be available to them when they start this crucial match.

It will be interesting to watch how the teams approach the contest. For UP, the match is like a race where they set the time first and their opponents try and beat it. Do they go for the three points first and then wait and watch to see if others overtake them? Or do they go all out for an outright win and risk staying put at 14 points?

UP have the bowling resources to take 20 wickets. RP Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Praveen Kumar have had impressive spells so far and if they can fire at the same time, an inexperienced Karnataka will be under severe pressure. UP's back-up fast bowler Sudeep Tyagi is not bad either but he will get a go only if they decide to pick only one spinner. The new ball, though, will be crucial for UP. In their last game, they reduced Railways to 12 for 4 in the first innings and 33 for 6 in the second, but there wasn't enough time to get an outright result on a slow track.

The reason why UP are more likely to not think of an outright win just yet is their brittle batting. Praveen has the best average in the side this season. Mohammad Kaif hasn't been his usual solid self, although he has scored one big century and saved one match via resolute defence. Tanmay Srivastava has been UP's leading run-scorer but even he has converted only one of his four half-centuries. UP would also love a big innings from Suresh Raina, who has scored 22, 66 and 17 in three innings this season. Raina is the man who can score big enough and quick enough to set up a win but he needs to build on good starts.

Kaif said his team was not thinking too far ahead and will not be desperate for an outright win on what looks like a good batting pitch. "It's a four-day match, so we can't go in with an outright win as our only motive," he said.

After conceding the first-innings lead against Railways and Tamil Nadu, Karnataka's hopes quarter-final berth were thin. Robin Uthappa wasn't getting much assistance from the middle order but that changed after Dravid joined the side. In their last two matches, Uthappa scored a century and Dravid two half-centuries, while the old partnership of Joshi and R Vinay Kumar started working again. Joshi took 15 wickets, and Karnataka won both their matches against Andhra and Baroda.

Dravid's contribution was crucial, said the Karnataka coach Vijay Bharadwaj. When Karnataka threatened to squander the first-innings advantage in Mysore, Dravid scored a patient 50 to set up a target in excess of 300. Against Baroda, Karnataka were in trouble at 24 for 3 after bowling the opposition out for 169 and once again Dravid rescued his team by scoring 83. "I am not saying we don't know how to play without Rahul," Bharadwaj said, "but it will be difficult. The challenge for the younger boys will be to take that extra responsibility." Karnataka will want their captain Uthappa to bear that extra responsibility and make a big hundred. Dravid's replacement in the side will be either Deepak Chougule or CM Gautam.

Karnataka, though, have more breathing space than UP do. "We know this is their last game, and they will need an outright win to be safe while we can aim for the first-innings points, and then take it from there," Bharadwaj said. Their next match is a home game against Maharashtra, who have struggled for their four points so far.

With five teams competing for the final three spots, the probabilities are immense and UP know they will have no say in what happens because they won't be playing in the last round. Urgent UP versus resurgent Karnataka should make for good viewing.

Teams
Karnataka (likely): Robin Uthappa (capt.), KB Pawan, Manish Pandey, C Raghu, Thilak Naidu (wk), Sunil Joshi, B Akhil, Sunil Raju, R Vinay Kumar, NC Aiyappa, Deepak Chougule/CM Gautam.

Uttar Pradesh (likely): Tanmay Srivastava, Shivakant Shukla, Suresh Raina, Mohammad Kaif (capt), Parvinder Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Piyush Chawla, Praveen Kumar, RP Singh, Amir Khan, Praveen Gupta, Ashish Yadav, Sudeep Tyagi, and Imtiyaz Ahmed.