PANAJI
Goa’s Vijay Hazare Trophy Elite campaign ended in heartbreak after they suffered a narrow five-run defeat against Maharashtra in their final Group C match at the Dr Soni Stadium, Jaipur, on Thursday.
Batting first, Maharashtra recovered from a dramatic collapse to post 249 for 7 in 50 overs. Reduced to 25 for 5 early on, Maharashtra were rescued by captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, who struck a superb unbeaten 134 off 131 balls, including eight fours and six sixes. He shared a crucial 106-run partnership for the seventh wicket with Vicky Ostwal (53), while Rajvardhan Hangargekar added an unbeaten 32 off 19 balls to lift the total.
Vasuki Koushik was Goa’s most successful bowler with figures of 3 for 38, while Arjun Tendulkar, Deepraj Gaonkar, Darshan Misal and Lalit Yadav picked up a wicket each.
In reply, Goa made a confident start through openers Kashyap Bakhle (42) and Snehal Kauthankar (40), who added 83 runs. However, the loss of both openers and Suyash Prabhudessai (10) in quick succession halted the momentum, and wickets continued to fall at regular intervals. Captain Deepraj Gaonkar scored 34.
All-rounder Lalit Yadav kept Goa in the hunt with an unbeaten 57 and, along with last man Koushik (not out 4), tried to guide the team home, but the target proved just beyond reach as Goa finished on 244 for 9.
With this defeat, Goa concluded their campaign, finishing with 12 points from seven matches, comprising three wins and four losses in Group C.
