BASIL SYLVESTER PINTO
PANAJI
Snehal Kauthankar played a brilliant hand with an unbeaten 106 to guide his side to 422/7 at the end of Day 2 in the ongoing Ranji Trophy match against Jammu & Kashmir at Porvorim on Tuesday.
The solid unbeaten three-figure knock coming in his 21st First Class match was embellished with 16 boundaries and came at a healthy strike rate of a shade under 55. This was only his third century at this level with his second, a grand double (225) coming two years ago against Haryana in Ghaziabad in his 14th First Class match.
Plagued by injuries, the elegant right-handed batsman was particularly pleased with his effort given that he missed most of Ranji cricket last season due to injury and oft late he had a sequence of low scores as well. Speaking to The Goan, Kauthankar revealed, “I played only three matches last season, then got injured and was in rehabilitation for the next 6-7 months. Coming back from a long injury lay-off was difficult.”
Though he only had a start in his second innings against Uttar Pradesh in Goa’s season opener in Kanpur earlier this month, he averred that it augured well for him in the near future as it came against a good attack. “I may have scored 28 but I played 122 balls against the likes of Ankit Singh Rajpoot and Shivam Mavi which gave me some kind of confidence going into the game against Jammu & Kashmir at home,” Kauthankar said.
With their game plan going into the third day, he appeared positive that they could secure a vital four points for a first innings lead. “We will look to bat out the first session and score 500. The wicket is quite slow and will turn on the last two days. If we get such a score, we have a good opportunity to get them (Jammu & Kashmir) all out,” he said.
Goa coach Prakash Mayenkar singled out the seventh-wicket as a crucial one and praised Kauthankar for his special knock. “The 98-run seventh-wicket stand between Kauthankar and Amulya Pandrekar (38) was crucial,” Mayenkar said. “Kauthankar’s innings was the best he has ever played with calculative shots, full of confidence and sound application. He was determined to score and he deserved the hundred,” the Goa coach added.
