Siddharth Krishnamurthy
PANAJI
Manthan Khutkar and Siddharth Krishnamurthy scored centuries as Goa took a massive 259 runs first innings lead against Sikkim and were in a commanding position at the end of day 2 of the Ranji Trophy Plate group match at SICA Ground in Rangpo, Sikkim.
In reply, Sikkim were 50/3 in 18 overs, still trailing Goa by 209 runs. Thus, Goa is in sight of a big win and has a chance to secure a bonus point which they missed out during their last match against Manipur.
Resuming at 90/0, Goa declared their first innings at 367/4 in 95.4 overs just an hour before end of play.
The highlight of Goa’s innings were centuries from Manthan Khutkar and Siddharth Krishnamurthy.
Panaji boy Manthan hit his maiden century in first class cricket when he scored 104 off 190 balls which included 7 boundaries. It was Manthan’s ninth first class match.
He was followed by Siddharth Krishnamurthy who hit his fifth first class century. Siddharth remained unbeaten on 130 off 172 balls when Goa declared their innings. Siddharth’s knock included 3 sixes and 10 fours.
Both Manthan and Siddharth put on 206 runs partnership for the third wicket.
Earlier in the day, Suyash Prabhudessai was the first Goan wicket to fell when the score was 101. Suyash scored 54 off 97 balls and was run-out by Pankaj Kumar Rawat. His innings included 1 six and 6 fours.
At 127 on the scoreboard, opener Rohan Kadam fell for 54 off 106 balls. Rohan’s knock included 8 boundaries.
Skipper Darshan Misal was the fourth Goan wicket to fell after Suyash, Rohan and Manthan. He was bowled by Sikkim captain Lee Yong Lepcha for 11.
Trailing by 259 runs, Sikkim started their second innings also on a disastrous note. Their top three batsmen - Pankaj Kumar Rawat (4), Nilesh Lamichaney (8) and Anvesh Sharma (8) fell quickly with the scoreboard at 26/3.
Parth Palawat who hit a six and 2 fours was batting on 18 off 39 balls along with wicket-keeper Arun Chettri who was unbeaten on 7.
For Goa, Arjun Tendulkar picked up 2 wickets for 20 runs and Darshan Misal took a wicket for 10 runs.
Brief Score
Sikkim (First Innings) – 108 in 46.5 overs (Parth Palawat 39, Ankur Malik 22, Palzor Tamang 19, Heramb Parab 3/42, Darshan Misal 2/2, Mohit Redkar 2/9, Arjun Tendulkar 2/31, Shubham Tari 1/21)
Goa (First Innings) – 367/4 in 95.4 overs declared (Siddharth Krishnamurthy 130 not out, Manthan Khutkar 104, Rohan Kadam 55, Suyash Prabhudessai 54, Parth Palawat 1/55, Lee Yong Lepcha 1/96, Ankur Malik 1/100)
Sikkim (Second Innings) – 50/3 in 18 overs (Parth Palawat 18 not out, Arjun Tendulkar 2/20, Darshan Misal 1/10)
