PANAJI
Goa are in a precarious situation at the end of Day 3 in their opening Ranji Trophy Elite Group C fixture against hosts Tripura on Sunday.
After skittling out Goa for 135 in reply to their first innings score of 484 at Maharaja Bir Bikram College Stadium, Agartala, the hosts opted not to enforce the follow-on, and extended their lead further by scoring 151/5 before declaring in their second innings.
In their second dig, Goa slumped to 48/3 and require another 453 runs to complete an improbable win. Set a mammoth target of 501 by Tripura, Goa lost openers Suyash Prabhudessai (9) and Manthan Khutkar (6) early. At stumps on Day 3, one-down batter Krishnamurthy Siddharth (16 not out) and Lakshay Garg (9 not out) were at the crease after Goa lost their third wicket, Snehal Kauthankar (6). Tripura bowlers Manisankar Murasingh, Rana Dutta and Abhijit Sarkar shared the three wickets.
In Goa's first inning, only Deepraj Gaonkar offered any resistance with a gritty 41 against Tripura's potent bowling attack. The rest of the Goa batting order crumbled, with right-arm seamer Sarkar ripping through them to claim figures of 4/24 in 12 overs. Murasingh (3/40) and Datta (3/41) also chipped in with three wickets apiece.
Earlier, Tripura started cautiously on Day 1, losing Bikramkumar Das (10) and Bishal Ghosh (7) early. However, Sudip Chatterjee (42) and Sridam Paul (112) steadied the ship with a 69-run partnership. Chatterjee fell for 42 to Vijesh Prabhudesai, but Paul blossomed with a century, reaching 112 (162) with 15 fours and a six. Thanks to their contributions, Tripura finished Day 1 on a commanding 261/4.
On Day 2, Ganesh Satish (73), captain Wriddhiman Saha (97), and Murasingh (50) further bolstered Tripura's total to a mammoth 484. Mohit Redkar was the pick of the bowlers for Goa, claiming 4/74 in 22.4 overs.
Tripura then preferred to bat again despite having the option of imposing a follow-on on the opposition. After falling cheaply in the first innings, openers Ghosh and Das made amends with scores of 33 and 45, respectively. First-innings centurion Paul also chipped in with 32 before the hosts declared on 151/5.
BRIEF SCORES: Tripura: 484 all out & 2nd Innings: 151/5 declared in 33.4 overs (Bikram Kumar Das 45; Darshan Misal 3/48) vs Goa: 135 all out in 48.5 overs (Deepraj Gaonkar 41; AK Sarkar 4/24, Rana Datta 3/41, Mura Singh 3/40) & 2nd Innings: 48/3 in 20 overs.
