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Bombay assured of semi-final berth

With just one round of the Ranji Trophy Super League matches left, only Bombay from Group `A' and Tamil Nadu Group `C' have booked their berths for the knock-out stage.

But that does not mean that the others do not stand the chance. Quite the contrary, only four teams are out of the running from the 12 teams involved in the Super league. They are Haryana, Rajasthan, Bihar and Saurashtra.

Two teams from each of group qualify for the knock-out phase, with two among them having most points getting seeded into the semi-finals.

Bombay is the only team with an all-win record and is likely to become one of the two sides to be seeded into the semi-finals. They face Bengal away from March 13 in the final round. The other three in the group -- Bengal, Karnataka and Delhi will fight it out for the second spot from Group A.

Orissa's draw with Tamil Nadu in Group `C' mathematically keeps them in contention. Their combination is beating Haryana and a Tamil Nadu thrashing for Uttar Pradesh.

In that case, Orissa and UP will tie on 19 points and it will get down to net run rate. A draw will give TN a spot in the semi-finals.

Group B is the most open. Four of the five teams stay in contention. And they are within five points of each other. Baroda are well placed at 18 and their next opponents are Hyderabad (at Hyderabad) at 13. The other match will feature Punjab (16) and Railways (14) in Delhi.

Points position:

Group A: Bombay 24, Bengal 13, Karnataka 11, Delhi 8, Rajasthan 8 (out).

Matches remaining: Bombay vs Bengal (Calcutta) and Delhi vs Karnataka (Bangalore).

Group B: Baroda 18, Punjab 16, Railways 14, Hyderabad 13, Bihar 3 (out).

Matches remaining: Baroda vs Hyderabad (Hyderabad) and Railways vs Punjab (Delhi).

Group C: Tamil Nadu 21, Uttar Pradesh 19, Orissa 11, Saurashtra 8 (out), Haryana 3 (out).

Matches remaining: Tamil Nadu vs Uttar Pradesh (Kanpur) and Orissa vs Haryana (Cuttack).

All matches will be played from March 13.