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Irfan Pathan expressed concern about his former side, Bardoa's struggle in the Ranji Trophy after another disappointing end to the campaign.
Baroda had fate in their own hands in the final round of the Ranji Trophy group stage. Baroda needed a victory against Elite A table-toppers Jammu and Kashmir to confirm their berth in the quarter-finals. J&K outplayed Barokda in all facets of the game to cruise to a comfortable yet emphatic 182-run victory. After conceding a defeat, Baroda's Ranji Trophy campaign yet again ended in the group stage. After another sad end to Baroda's campaign, Irfan took to X to question decision-making during their campaign and the lack of runs from the batters. "Congrats to Jammu & Kashmir for making the Ranji knockouts! While I'm happy for them, it's tough to see Baroda cricket struggling--only one knockout appearance in the last 5-6 years. This season, no batsman even makes the top 30 run-scorers nationally. To make matters worse, the critical No. 4 spot in red-ball cricket has been filled by bowlers like Atish Seth and Mahesh Pethia in do-or-die matches. Bowlers who can bat, but No. 4 requires a specialist. Who's making these decisions?" Irfan wrote on X. After J&K ousted Baroda comprehensively, Mumbai leapfrogged the latter to move to the second spot and keep their chances of defending the title alive. Along with J&K and Mumbai, the other teams to qualify for the final eight include Vidarbha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Haryana, Gujarat and Saurashtra. Overall, this was the third instance of J&K reaching the quarter-final stage and the first time in five years. J&K last featured in the quarter-finals in the 2019-20 season. Just like J&K, Kerala also qualified for the quarter-finals for the third time and the first in six years. (ANI)
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