Nagpur: Quarterfinal appearances in back-to-back tournaments speak volumes about a teams capabilities. After the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, now Vidarbha are among the last eight teams standing in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.However, knockouts have always left Vidarbha in the bracket of teams capable of winning the title rather than the one actually winning it.On Monday, Vidarbha will look to go past Karnataka to start the knockout phase on a winning note at Rajkot.In the seven matches of the league phase, the top four of the Vidarbha batting line-up got the runs, but consistency remains an issue. Skipper Atharva Taide, the opener, has scored most runs for the team in the tournament. Though he has managed to give the team a flying start on most occasions, Taide would be itching to get a big knock that has eluded him so far in the tournament.After trying two differentcombinations, the team management now looks firm on Dhruv Shorey as the opening partner for Taide. The former Delhi professional has been in good form in the last three matches. After a century against Chhattisgarh, Shorey posted 80-plus scores against Hyderabad and Services.In the middle order, Karun Nair had a shaky start to the tournament, but finally hit the groove in the business end of the league phase. Nair posted a ton, though in a losing cause, against Hyderabad. Making his List A debut, Aman Mokhade, with three good knocks, including 83 against Chhattisgarh, looks to have settled in the senior setup.Beyond these four, the batting stutters a bit. Vidarbha have been carrying the baggage of a fragile lower-middle order. Just like the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the team management has failed to find a suitable, if not perfect, and permanent batting spot for Akshay Wadkar.Wadkar, former skipper, has been sent in as an opener and also at No. 6. Back at his preferred No. 5 spot for the last few matches, Wadkar needs to discover his old self for his own as well as the teams good. Having just one 50-plus score, Shubham Dubey too needs to get his big-hitting mojo back to give the team a late flourish in the absence of Jitesh Sharma, who is on India duty.Among the bowlers, medium pacer Darshan Nalkande (15) and spinner Akshay Karnewar (13) have picked up most wickets. Vidarbha would be hoping that Umesh Yadav inflicts early damage against a depleted Karnataka batting line-up.In form Devdutt Padikkal, who left for South Africa to be part of the India A squad, did the bulk of the scoring for Karnataka in the league matches. After a 256-run opening stand against Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka openers — Mayank Agarwal and R Samarth — havent been able to give a good start to the team.

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