It's crunch time in the Group of Death of Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25. After the fourth round in Ahmedabad, unbeaten Karnataka lead the eight-team table, ahead of Punjab and Saurashtra, who are separated by Net Run Rate (NRR). (More Cricket News)

Mumbai are fourth, thanks to their superior NRR with Hyderabad and surprised package Puducherry also on eight points each. Expectedly, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh are winless.

Here's all you need to know about VHT 2024-25, Round 5, Group C Fixtures:

At Gujarat College Ground, Punjab take on Saurashtra with both teams eying all four available points. Littered with Indian Premier League (IPL) players, Punjab are the favourites. But Abhishek Sharma & Co. will not take Saurashtra lightly.

Both teams have three of their first four matches. Punjab were runaway winners against minnows Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland but suffered a heart-breaking one-wicket defeat against Karnataka. In their last outing, the two-time finalists thrashed four-time champions Mumbai by eight wickets.

Saurashtra, meanwhile, suffered a shock defeat against Puducherry but have won three on the trot, beating Arunachal Pradesh, Hyderabad, and Nagaland comprehensively. Expect a 50-over thriller on Tuesday.

Punjab vs Saurashtra Squads

Punjab: Abhishek Sharma (c), Prabhsimran Singh, Anmolpreet Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Anmol Malhotra (wk), Sanvir Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Naman Dhir, Arshdeep Singh, Raghu Sharma, Prerit Dutta, Mayank Markande, Baltej Singh, Sohraab Dhaliwal, Ashwani Kumar, Harpreet Brar, Gurnoor Brar, Pukhraj Mann, Jassinder Singh, and Jaskaranvir Paul.

Saurashtra: Harvik Desai (wk), Sheldon Jackson, Jay Gohil, Arpit Vasavada, Parswaraj Rana, Chirag Jani, Parth Bhut, Ruchit Ahir, Jaydev Unadkat (c), Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Navneet Vora, Pranav Karia, Ankur Panwar, Hiten Kanbi, Tarang Gohel, Vishvaraj Jadeja, and Prerak Mankad.

Hyderabad vs Karnataka at ADSA Railways Cricket Ground, Ahmedabad

This was announced by FIH President Tayyab Ikram who said: "Giving more opportunities to play to a larger and more diverse number of National Associations is one of the key pillars of our empowerment and engagement strategy."

Karnataka face Hyderabad in a tricky fixture. Led by mercurial skipper Mayank Agarwal, the four-time champions have registered wins against Mumbai, Puducherry, Punjab, and Arunachal Pradesh.

Tilak Varma's Hyderabad have done enough to beat Nagaland and Puducherry but came second best in the outings against Mumbai and Saurashtra. Another defeat will prove detrimental to their knock-out qualification hopes.

Hyderabad vs Karnataka Squads

Hyderabad: Tanmay Agarwal, Tilak Varma (c), Kodimela Himateja, Aelgani Varun Goud, Aravelly Avanish (wk), K Nitesh Reddy, P Nitesh Reddy, Tanay Thyagarajan, Chama V Milind, Mohammad Muddassir, Saranu Nishanth, Rohit Rayudu, Rahul Radesh, Abhirath Reddy, Chandan Sahani, Aniketh Reddy, and Ajay Dev Goud.

Karnataka: Nikin Jose, Mayank Agarwal (c), Aneesh KV, Smaran Ravichandran, Krishnan Shrijith (wk), Shreyas Gopal, Praveen Dubey, Abhinav Manohar, Abhilash Shetty, Hardik Raj, Vasuki Koushik, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Manoj Bhandage, Luvnith Sisodia, and Vidyadhar Patil.

Arunachal Pradesh vs Puducherry at Narendra Modi Stadium B Ground, Ahmedabad

An unlikely five-wicket win over Saurashtra gave Puducherry a dream start to their VHT 2024-25 campaign. But defeats against Karnataka and Hyderabad, by three and four wickets, respectively, have given them the reality check. A win against Nagaland, in between, did very little as far as standings are concerned.

For Arunachal Pradesh, the Puducherry clash presents a good opportunity to improve their NRR. In four defeats, their NNR have dipped to minus 10.302, the worst in the 32nd edition of India's premier List A competition.

Arunachal Pradesh vs Puducherry Squads

Arunachal Pradesh: Rajender Singh, Biki Kumar (wk), Techi Neri, Gedak Ete, Hardik Varma, Licha John, Abhinav Singh, Sharad Chahar, Nabam Abo (c), Yab Niya Niia, Tadakamalla Mohith, Techi Doria, Nabam Tempol, Aditya Verma, Agnivesh Ayachi, Kamsha Yangfo, Neelam Obi, Ravi Yadav, Nabam Tatang, Prince Yadav, Amit Sikriwal, Honey Khari, Devansh Gupta, and Ravi Prakash.

Puducherry: Ganga Sridhar Raju, Ajay Rohera, Fabid Ahmed, Akash Kargave, Arun Karthik (c & wk), Santosh Ratnaparkhe, Aman Hakim Khan, Ankit Sharma, Sidak Gurvinder Singh, Gaurav Yadav, Vijai Raja, Karthikeyan Jayasundaram, Sagar Udeshi, Mohammed Aqib Jawad, Sabhay Chadha, Jashwanth Shreeram, Premraj Rajavelu, Neyan Shyam Kangayan, Satish Jangir, Mohit Kale, and Vikneshwaran Marimuthu.

The Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-24 group stage matches will not be streamed or telecast. The knockout matches, however, will be streamed live and telecast on JioCinema and Sports18 channels, respectively.

The knockouts will begin on January 9, 2025711bet, with preliminary quarter-finals. The final is scheduled for January 19. All knockout matches will be played in Vadodara.