PANAJI
Goa dominated Day 1 of their Ranji Trophy Plate opening encounter against Manipur, posting a commendable total of 302/7 at GCA Academy ground, Porvorim on Friday.
A stellar century from Suyash Prabhudessai (120) laid the foundation for Goa's strong position.
Manipur, who elected to field first, had a promising start as they dismissed opener Rohan Kadam (4), one-down Manthan Khutkar (8) and Krishnamurthy Siddharth (14) cheaply to reduce the hosts to 24/3.
However, Suyash Prabhudessai steadied the innings with a composed knock. He stitched together crucial partnerships, first with Snehal Kauthankar (41) and then with Darshan Misal (51), to propel Goa's score forward.
Kauthankar played a solid supporting role to Prabhudessai, contributing 41 runs from 79 balls before he was caught by Ronald Longjam off K Priyojit Singh. Following his departure, captain Darshan Misal joined Prabhudessai and ensured the run flow continued. Misal's well-paced 84-ball 51 further consolidated Goa's position. The Goa captain was dismissed when Rex Singh had him caught by Prafullomani Singh.
Prabhudessai was eventually dismissed after a 190-ball knock laced with 17 boundaries, caught by Pheiroijam Jotin off Ronald Longjam.
Samar Dubhashi then scored an unbeaten 39 to take Goa past the 300-run mark. He was batting in the company of Ruthvik Naik (1*) when the stumps were drawn after 87 overs.
Despite picking up wickets at regular intervals, the visiting Manipur bowlers failed to contain the flow of runs. Rex Rajkumar and Kangabam Priyojit Singh were the most successful bowlers, claiming two wickets each. However, the rest of the bowling attack struggled to make a significant impact.
Goa will be looking to build on their strong foundation on Saturday and extend their lead further.
Brief Scores
Goa: 302/7 in 87 overs (Suyash Prabhudessai 120, Snehal Kauthankar 41, Darshan Misal 51; Rex Rajkumar 2/34, Kangabam Priyojit Singh 2/35) vs Manipur
