Mysore: Former champions Karnataka will take on formidable Bengal in a crucial fourth round Ranji Trophy Elite Group A match beginning on Saturday.

The hosts, struggling with just three points from as many outings, and their unimpressive performance against Mumbai will now have an uphill task against Bengal, which has seven points in their kitty.

Sujith Somasundar led Karnataka’s progress to the next stage would depend on its performance during the four days against the strong Bengal team, which has been doing well consistently in this season.

Given the situation, Karnataka has to go for an outright win to be in the reckoning, a task, which is not so easy.

The city is playing host to a Ranji Trophy match 17 years.

Teams

Karnataka (from): Sujit Somasundar (captain), Robin Uthappa, Barrington Rowland, Thilak Naidu (wicketkeeper), Sudhindra P. Shinde, Stuart Binny, Sunil Joshi, Akhil Ganesh, R. Vinay Kumar, Bharat Chipli, N. C. Aiyappa, Udit Patel, C. Raghavendra, Raghu.

Bengal (from): Deep Dasgupta (captain), Arindam Das, Subhamoy Das, Devang Gandhi, Rohan Gavaskar, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Ranadeb Bose, Shib Shankar Paul, Sourashish Lahari, Shib Sagar Singh, Manoj Tewari, Abishek Jhunjhunwala, Sanjib Sanyal, Asok Dinda.