Basil Sylvester Pinto
PANAJI
Staring down at the barrel, Goa showed admirable late lower order resistance with all-rounder, Darshan Misal holding centre-stage with a fighting unbeaten 101 (194b, 325 mins, 8x4, 2x6) to turn over the ebb to a steady flow and hold the edge at the draw of stumps on Day 2 of the ongoing Ranji fixture against Services at Porvorim on Friday.
Resuming at an overnight 27/1, in reply to the visitors first innings score of 184, Goa may have ended the day well-placed at 259/9 in 100 overs, 75 runs ahead but not before starting the first session on Friday with a leaden footing. As much as Services strike pace bowlers, Diwesh Pathania and Sachidanand Pandey were pressed into action, for a larger part of the day; they had shared the damages under helpful seamer friendly conditions within the first hour of the second day’s play.
Goa was stooping at the brink with 53/6 on the scoreboard with only captain, Sagun Kamat (26) getting a start. The promising Snehal Kauthankar (26) had other ideas and in Misal found an able ally to do a repair job. As the game ticked towards the close of first session, a moment of madness by Kauthankar, who had put in all the hard yards at that point, undid all the fine work by chasing a delivery outside the off stick that saw him head towards the pavilion as Goa stumbled further to 95/7 at lunch.
While the visitors, smelt a collapse to the end of Goa’s first essay, post lunch it was all one-way traffic the other way around as the State team staged a remarkable recovery to seize the initiative. It required the assured presence of an experienced Darshan Misal (101*), to guide the handy lower order batsmen, Amulya Pandrekar (15) and Lakshay Garg (50) , to the belief that whatever the mind can set itself to achieve, it can with resolve and application.
Brief Scores
services 1st inns: 184 in 71.3 ov, RR: 2.57 (Ravi Chauhan 75; Vijesh Prabhudesai 5/52), Goa 1st inns: 259/9 in 100 ov, RR: 2.59 (Darshan Misal 101*, Lakshay Garg 50, Sachidanand Pandey 4/59, Diwesh Pathania 4/74); Goa lead by 75 runs
