Century by Lalit Yadav; Captain Deepraj Gaonkar's half-century and five wickets; Half-century by Suyash Prabhudesai
Lalit Yadav
PANAJI
In the Vijay Hazare Trophy Elite cricket tournament, Goa registered its second consecutive victory by defeating Himachal Pradesh by 8 runs in a nail-biting contest on Friday. The match was played at the Jaipuria Vidyalaya Ground in Jaipur. An all-round performance by captain Deepraj Gaonkar, a century from Lalit Yadav, and a half-century by Suyash Prabhudesai powered Goa to this hard-fought win. Goa, batting first, posted 285 for 9 in 50 overs and then bowled out Himachal Pradesh for 277 in 49.3 overs.
Chasing a stiff target, Himachal Pradesh got off to a steady start with a 58-run opening partnership between Innesh Mahajan and Ankit Kalsi. However, Goa struck back quickly to reduce them to a precarious 60 for 3 in a matter of deliveries. The dismissal of captain Surroch soon after left Himachal in deeper trouble at 70 for 4.
With wickets falling at one end, No. 4 batsman Pukhraj Mann fought a lone battle, scoring a valiant 126 off 119 balls, laced with 14 fours and 3 sixes, keeping Goa under pressure through small partnerships. In the 46th over, Deepraj Gaonkar dismissed Mann, completing an outstanding five-wicket haul in the innings. Despite some resistance from the lower order, Himachal fell short of the target.
Earlier, Himachal Pradesh won the toss and opted to bowl. Goa's top-order batsmen were dismissed cheaply, leaving the team struggling at 33 for 3 in 9.3 overs. Suyash Prabhudesai and Lalit Yadav then steadied the innings with a 90-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Suyash played a crucial knock of 51 off 63 balls, including five fours.
After Suyash's dismissal, Darshan Misal got out cheaply and Goa slipped into trouble at 150 for 5 in 32.4 overs. Captain Deepraj Gaonkar, coming in at No. 7, launched an aggressive counterattack, smashing 71 runs off just 48 balls with six fours and two sixes. At the other end, Lalit Yadav completed his century, compiling a composed 104 off 126 balls with five fours.
Following Lalit's dismissal, Rajashekhar Harikant provided a late flourish with an unbeaten 16 off 10 balls to boost Goa's run rate. Goa lost three wickets Deepraj, Rajashekhar, and Koushik in the final over of the innings.
Goa's next match will be against Sikkim on the 29th.
BRIEF SCORECARD
Goa: 285/9 in 50 overs (Snehal Kauthankar 11, Kashyap Bakhle 4, Abhinav Tejrana 4, Suyash Prabhudesai 51, Lalit Yadav 104, Darshan Misal 13, Deepraj Gaonkar 71, Rajshekhar Harikant 16, Arjun Tendulkar not out 1, V. Koushik 3, Extras 7; Rohit Kumar 5/55, Mridul Suroch 2/50) Beat Himachal Pradesh:277 all out in 49.3 overs (Innesh Mahajan 21, Ankit Kalsi 34, E.C. Sen 0, Pukhraj Mann 126, Mridul Surroch 6, Amanpreet Singh 9, N.A. Sharma 31, A.P. Vashisht 15, Rohit Kumar 15, Vaibhav Arora not out 7, Aryaman Dhalival 5, Extras 8; Deepraj Gaonkar 5/50, V. Koushik 2/34, Shubham Dessai 1/47, Darshan Misal 1/41)
