Ranji Trophy Quarters | Team overview | Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Punjab, Uttarakhand

Ranji Trophy knockouts are set to commence on Monday, June 6, after more than two months since the conclusion of the league stages in March. As we went through Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh, Bengal and Karnataka's journey, let's get into the other four teams - Madhya Pradesh. Jharkhand, Punjab and Uttarakhand, who are also having a brilliant domestic season so far. 

Madhya Pradesh - The sleeping Giant

If we go to history, Madhya Pradesh, previously known as Holkar, was the actual powerhouse of Indian cricket in the 40s and 50s. They were the first team to beat Mumbai (then Bombay) in a Ranji Trophy Final. In a span of eleven seasons (1941-42 to 1953-54), Holkar failed to reach the final only once, winning the title four times. 

But after that, Holkar, now playing as Madhya Pradesh with an expanded geographical horizon, has failed to carry on the legacy and reaching the 1998-99 final is the best they have done since 1955. 

This is the season, for the very first time, that gives a sense of the establishment of that Holkar legacy. Yes, it is a long road, but under the coaching of Chandrakant Pandit, MP looked among the most improved teams this domestic season. 

The former Mumbai cricketer, who already gave birth to a new phenomenon called Vidarbha, into domestic cricket, winning two back-to-back titles as a coach, is all set to take a new team Madhya Pradesh to new heights. We have already seen a glimpse of that. Players like Venkatesh Iyer and Avesh Khan made it to the India team. Rajat Patidar, Kuldeep Sen, Kumar Kartikeya lighting up the IPL. 

They also have someone like Shubham Sharma, who has been one of the consistent performers this domestic season for me. Young Akshat Raghuwanshi also made his first-class debut, with veteran paceman Ishwar Pandey leading the attack. 

Madhya Pradesh is all set to step up in the Ranji Trophy knockouts with all these emerging players taking on Punjab. Their journey has not been that easy, drawing in the same group as Gujarat and Kerala. Madhya Pradesh and Kerala had 13 points going into the last group stage fixture against each other, making it a virtual knockout game. 

Young opener Yash Dubey scored a mammoth 289, followed by a 142 from Rajat Patidar, together the duo adding 277 runs partnership to set a huge first innings total. Kerala fought back hard for a first innings lead but fell short on 432 for nine, and MP went through on a better quotient. 

Jharkhand and young Kumar Kushagra

It has been a season of young wicketkeeper batters, hasn't it? From the likes of Het Patel, Abishek Porel and Kumar Kushagra for Jharkhand. The biggest takeaway for me from Jharkhand's campaign so far has been this 17-year-old wicketkeeper from Bokaro. 

After winning the opening game against Delhi, Jharkhand failed to carry on the momentum and faced a defeat against Chhattisgarh. Going into the last match at Nehru Stadium in Guwahati, Jharkhand needed a win to go through to the knockout stage. 

They were facing Tamil Nadu, who almost knocked them out, but a fifer from Rahul Shukla in the second innings, and the duo of Saurabh Tiwary-Kumar Kushagra, stood tall in the middle, taking Jharkhand home, knocking Chhattisgarh out. 

They later went on to thrash plate group winners Nagaland in the pre-quarterfinal at the Eden Gardens, with the help of a double century from Kumar Kushagra. Both the teams shook their hands, and Jharkhand went through on the first innings lead. They led by 1008 runs at the time of conclusion on day five, which is a record in first-class cricket.

A Young Punjab under a young leader

Under the leadership of young Abhishek Sharma, this Punjab team thrives for new heights in domestic cricket. With the likes of Prabhsimran Singh, skipper Abhishek Sharma, Anmolpreet Singh and Anmol Malhotra, Punjab is building a great young batting core for the next few years. 

In the very first game against Haryana, Punjab suffered early blows before a 163 runs stand between Mandeep Singh and Anmol Malhotra, scoring centuries each. Bowling in the second innings, the Punjab pace attack led by Siddharth Kaul responded brilliantly, bowling Haryana out cheaply in both the innings. 

They were further challenged by a confident Tripura side, who bowled them out for just 120 in the first innings before asking them to chase almost 250 in the fourth innings. Mandeep Singh rose to the occasion, taking Punjab to a six wickets win with an unbeaten 97. 

Baltej Singh took 18 wickets in the group stages at an average of 15. Meanwhile, Mandeep Singh continues to be the spearhead of Punjab's batting, having scored 358 runs at an average of 179 in the group stage. 

Punjab will be without Arshdeep Singh due to his maiden India call-up for the South Africa series. However, Shubman Gill will be available for the quarterfinal clash. 

Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand will be playing their second quarterfinal in the first three seasons of their participation in India's premier red-ball tournament. They qualified through an Elite group for the first time, comprising teams like Andhra, Services and Rajasthan. Their victory against Rajasthan stands out to me, which played a crucial role in their qualification to the knockouts. 

Mayank Mishra's heroics with the ball, taking a seven-wicket haul against Rajasthan, laid up a perfect campaign with two wins and two games. The Jay Bista led side topped Elite Group E and went through to the knockouts, despite falling against Andhra in their last group fixture. 

Although it did some damage as Uttarakhand is now slotted against Mumbai in the quarterfinal, who are the huge favourites to clinch the title this season.