PANAJI
Goa find themselves in a spot of bother as the visitors are 113 runs behind with only four wickets in hand. With two days left to play, Goa's position will make it difficult for them to press for an outright victory, which was their target heading into the match. Nevertheless, Mayekar is hoping that Goa can at least cross Service's total of 263 runs as the first-innings lead now becomes the primary aim.
Goa have just two points from three matches so far after draws against Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh and loss to Punjab. When asked as to what went wrong for Goa, who are 150/6, Mayekar said that the sorry tale of poor application continues.
"The batsmen have simply failed to apply themselves. There is nothing wrong in the pitch. Services bowling too is just normal and nothing special. We have complicated things for ourselves. For the exception of Darshan Misal, who got a good delivery, others including the returning Snehal Kauthankar, played bad shots," Mayekar told The Goan.
Captain Sagun Kamat scored a half-century and just when he looked set for a big one, the left-hander was run out. "That wicket changed the course of the innings for us. Sagun was going well with Amogh Desai at the other end putting on a partnership of 58 runs for the third wicket and taking Goa to a road to recovery," explained Mayekar.
However, Sagun's run-out came at the wrong time and Goa then lost three more wickets before bad light put an end to second day's play. "I hope Amogh and Keenan Vaz can apply themselves to give Goa a fighting chance," Mayekar said.
