While the teams in the top half of the table will be looking to consolidate their position with two rounds left in the league phase of the Ranji Trophy 2015-16 season, teams in the lower of half of the Group A and Group B will be fighting to avoid relegation to Group C. Although the table-toppers have held on to their positions, with places in knock-outs still up for grabs the last two rounds are likely to witness some exciting encounters. Group B is likely to be the most exciting with four teams being separated only by net run-rate and have two matches each to play in the business end of the tournament. After winning the Trophy twice in a row, Karnataka will be battling Delhi and Maharashtra in an effort to book a place in the knock-outs as well. Here’s how the teams are placed: In Group A, Delhi continues to top the table with 24 points despite their loss to Assam in Round 7. The Gautam Gambhir-led side will be playing their last match of the phase against Karnataka in an away game. The defending champions have two matches left and were pushed down to No. 4 by Assam. Just one point separates Karnataka and Assam, who are No. 3 and both teams have two matches each to make a place for themselves in the knock-outs. Vidarbha are sitting at No 2 with 22 points, same as Assam but ahead on net run-rate have just the one game left and will be keen to beat Haryana in an effort to book a place in the next phase. Bengal are at No 5, with 19 points and have two matches left – one home game and an away match vs Assam. The Manoj Tiwary-led side will be looking to pull off outright wins which along with results of other teams can keep them in the fray for a place in the quarter-finals. Haryana (6 points) and Team Rajasthan (5 points), who are at No 8 and 9 respectively have two matches each to avoid relegation. However, the teams will be playing against each other in the next round, which will turn out to be a crucial game. Group B, Mumbai are comfortably perched at the top of the table after pulling off a win against Railways at home. The Aditya Tare-led team were taken to the finish line by the skipper after Akhil Herwadkar and Shreyas Iyer set-up the chase on the last day. With 26 points to their credit their quest will be to remain at No 1 and consolidate their position. They will play their next game in Indore against Madhya Pradesh, who are at No 3 with 17 points and will be keen to win their next two games to book a berth in the QFs. Besides MP, Gujarat (No 4), Uttar Pradesh (No 5) and Tamil Nadu (No 6) all have 17 points each and it’s only the NRR that separates the teams. All four have two games each to make a bid for a place in the finals. Baroda, who have 16 points after a comprehensive innings win against Punjab will be facing-off against UP in their last game of the league phase in Round 8. Gujarat, who are at No 2 with 22 points and two matches still to play will have a tough road ahead. They take on Tamil Nadu in Round 8 and then come to Mumbai for their last match of the league phase. With all top six teams having two matches left it will be a tough battle for a place in the knock-outs. Railways have one match left and are at the bottom of the table with six points will take on Andhra (two matches left), who are at No 8 with 10 points in Round 8. With both teams looking to avoid relegation, the game at the Karnail Singh Stadium would be a crucial one. Saurashtra with 29 points are comfortably perched at the top of the Group C table in spite of conceding the first innings to Himachal Pradesh in the drawn match in Round 7. HP are placed at No 2 with 24 points. Both the top two teams have two games each left to further consolidate their positions as only two teams qualify from the Group for the knock-outs. Services, who are at No 3 have 20 points against their name but one game left while Kerala (17 points) have two matches left. The Sanju Samson-led team pulled off an innings win against hosts Goa in Round 7 and will be taking on Saurashtra and HP respectively in their next two matches. Points table:

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