Vidarbha players celebrate the fall of a Goa wicket.
SCORES
Goa, 1st innings: 220 in 93.5 ov (Yash Kasvankar 63*, Nachiket Bhute 5-48); Vidarbha, 1st innings: 442-8 decl in 134.2 ov (Dhruv Shorey 168, Akshay Wadkar 63*, Ruthvik Naik 5-70); Goa, 2nd innings: 195 in 76 ov (Manthan Khutkar 70, Harsh Dubey 4-38)
Vidarbha win by an innings and 27 runs
---
PANAJI
Vidarbha handed Goa their third successive defeat in as many matches as the visitors were humbled by an innings and 27 runs in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group A tie at the VCA Jamtha Stadium, Nagpur, on Thursday.
Resuming on their overnight score of 41-1 in their second innings, still trailing Vidarbha by 181 runs, the Goa batting unit did not have much stomach for a fight and stave off another defeat. Comeback top-order batter Manthan Khutkar showed resolve and application to top-score for Goa with 70 (160b, 4x4, 5x6) in the innings.
Wicketkeeper-batter Shivendra Bhujbal, batting at number 6, stayed unbeaten on 45 (79b, 8x4, 1x6), the only other notable contributor, as the batting collapsed for a paltry 195, well before tea.
Slow left-arm orthodox, Harsh Dubey starred with the ball for Vidarbha, scalping four batters, while the other bowlers – Nachiket Bhute, Yash Thakur, Parth Rekhade, Rajneesh Gurbani and Aman Mokhade claimed a wicket each. Dhurv Shorey (Vidarbha) was adjudged Player of the Match for his masterly 168.
Goa will look to score their first points when they return home for a bottom-of-the-table Elite Group A clash against Bihar at Panjim Gymkhana Ground, Panaji, starting on November 2.
