The last round of group games will see three top India stars make a comeback to the domestic circuit while Ravindra Jadeja will continue to play for Saurashtra against Assam in what is a must-win match for his team. He was the player of the match in the last round as Saurashtra beat Delhi, which saw Rishabh Pant take the field.
Mumbai fielded Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer in their previous match against J&K but fell short.
Now, they hope J&K to continue the winning streak against Baroda, who have 27 points, in their last league match. Mumbai are at 22 and a win against Meghalaya can help them qualify for knockouts if Baroda lose. However, if Baroda manage a draw after earning first innings lead then it will be curtains for the 42-time champions despite a bonus win over their next opponents.
In Group D, table-toppers Tamil Nadu will be keen to have a good outing in Jamshedpur against Jharkhand. With 25 points at the moment, if they could secure a first innings lead, the Sai Kishore-led side will seal the top place, making it to the quarterfinal just like they did last year. Although they do not have B Sai Sudarshan, who is still in rehab, a young Andre Siddarth has emerged as a star batter with senior pros chipping in. B Indrajith, who has had a quiet season so far, will have a point to prove before the knockouts and no better time for the middle-order batter to rise to the occasion and help his team.
Select fixtures
Group A: At Cuttack: Odisha vs Services
Group B: At Nagpur: Vidarbha vs Hyderabad; At Puducherry: Puducherry vs Uttarakhand; At Vizianagaram: Andhra vs Rajasthan
Group C: At Bengaluru: Karnataka vs Haryana; At Thumba: Kerala vs Bihar
Group D: At Jamshedpur: Jharkhand vs Tamil Nadu; At Delhi: Delhi vs Railways
