Ranji Trophy: Baroda pile on the runs, Goa lose Prabhudessai first ball in reply

SCORES
Baroda, First Innings (resumed at 204/3): Shashwat Rawat c Manthan Khutkar (sub) b Mohit Redkar 69, Deepak Hooda c Deeparaj Gaonkar b Redkar 52, Mitesh Patel lbw b Shubham Tari 81, Atit Sheth lbw b Vasuki Koushik 99, Raj Limbani c Shubham Tari b Vasuki Koushik 29, Mahesh Pithiya not out 1, Rasikh Dar not out 1; Extras 27; Total: 472/8 declared in 157 overs; Bowling: Vasuki Koushik 31-12-51-2, Ruthvik Naik 19-3-42-1, Lalit Yadav 26-3-90-0, Shubham Tari 19-0-73-1, Mohit Redkar 41-2-120-3, Darshan Misal 11-0-40-1, Abhinav Tejrana 2-0-3-0, Deepraj Gaonkar 8-2-35-0.
Goa, First Innings: Suyash Prabhudessai c Solanki (sub) b Mahesh Pithiya 0, Shivendra Bhujbal not out 5, Darshan Misal not out 0; Extras 0; Total: 5/1 in 3 overs; Bowling: Mahesh Pithiya 2-1-4-1, Bhargav Bhatt 1-0-1-0.
Goa trail Baroda by 467 runs with 9 wickets remaining
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PANAJI
Baroda captain Atit Sheth led his side from the front with an authoritative 99 as the visitors declared their first innings late on Day 2 at 472-8, while Goa stumbled in reply in the first-round Ranji Trophy Elite Group A match at the Panjim Gymkhana Ground in Panaji on Monday.
At stumps, Goa were pegged back early at 5-1 after three overs, with opener Suyash Prabhudessai slogging towards substitute fielder Aryan Chavda at midwicket off slow bowler Mahesh Pithiya on his first ball.
Earlier in the day, the visitors, resuming at 204-3, could add only another 37 runs before veteran batter Deepak Hooda holed out to Deepak Gaonkar at long-on off right-arm off-break bowler Mohit Redkar on an individual score of 52. He shared a 110-run fourth-wicket partnership off 221 balls with Shashwat Rawat.
Rawat did not last too long either, falling for 69, caught by substitute Manthan Khutkar at deep square leg off Redkar, as Goa had the visitors at a precarious 260-5 in the 106th over.
In walked captain and all-rounder Atit Sheth, who found an able ally in wicketkeeper-batter Mitesh Patel to resurrect the innings with sound application at the crease. They had added 132 runs for the sixth wicket, when Mitesh was trapped lbw for 81 by right-arm medium-pacer Shubham Tari.
Meanwhile, 30-year-old Atit looked set for a big score at one end and was joined by former Under-19 World Cup player Raj Limbani, who played his part in carrying on the visitors’ momentum. Limbani departed for a handy 29, holing out to Shubham Tari at deep cover off pacer Vasuki Koushik, with Baroda at 462-7.
With an eye on his fifth first-class century and a back-to-back Ranji hundred (his last innings being 109 against Tamil Nadu on January 29, 2026, in Salem), Sheth attempted a glory shot, only for Goa pacer Koushik to shatter the stumps and send the Baroda captain back to the pavilion for a well-made 99 (145b, 9x4, 1x6).
With the fall of Sheth's wicket, Baroda declared their innings at 472-8 in 157 overs, leaving the home side to negotiate three overs at the crease before stumps were called.
Goa were undone early, with their star opener Suyash Prabhudessai losing his wicket for a golden duck. Debutant wicketkeeper-batter Shivendra Bhujbal remained unbeaten on 5, with experienced all-rounder Darshan Misal yet to open his account.