New Delhi, (PTI): Heavyweights Mumbai, Karnataka and Delhi have been clubbed in virtual "group of Death" in the Ranji Trophy, which will start from January 5 next year.
Along with the multiple time Ranji champions are Hyderabad, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand in the Elite group C.
Defending champions Saurashtra are clubbed with Tamil Nadu, Railways, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand and Goa in Elite group D.
Last year's runners-up Bengal has a relatively easy group (Elite B) with Vidarbha, Haryana, Kerala, Tripura and Rajasthan.
Another interesting group will be Elite group A that has Gujarat, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Services and Assam.
The Elite E group has Andhra, Uttar Pradesh, Baroda, Odisha, Chattisgarh and Pondicherry.
The Plate group will comprise Chandigarh, Meghalya, Bihar, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh.
The six cities where matches will be played are Mumbai (Elite A), Bengaluru (Elite B), Kolkata (Elite C), Ahmedabad (Elite D), Trivandrum (Elite E) and Chennai (Plate).
There will be a five-day quarantine for teams ahead of each game.
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Dhanbad (Jharkhand) (PTI): At least four workers died after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district on Saturday, a police official said.
The incident took place at Moonidih coal washery in the command area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL).
"Bodies of all four workers were dug out of debris during a rescue operation," Putki police station in-charge Waqar Hussain told PTI.
The incident took place when coal slurry was being loaded into trucks by workers, during which a large chunk of slurry fell and trapped several workers underneath, officials said.
The deceased have been identified as Manik Bauri, Dinesh Bauri, Deepak Bauri, and Hemlal Gope.
Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased and local villagers placed the bodies in front of the washery gate and began a protest.
They demanded compensation, jobs for dependents and action against those responsible for the incident.
Police and administration officials are trying to pacify the protesters, an official said.
