PANAJI
Goa ended their campaign at the on-going Vijay Hazare Trophy (50-over tournament conducted by BCCI), on a poor note with only a solitary win to their credit, that too against a lowly rated Nagaland side.The Goan outfit lost five out of their six games, thereby crashing out of the tournament meekly. It was an indeed poor show by the Goan boys. Last season was at least slightly better for Goa, where in the Goan side had managed to secure wins against Bihar and Arunachal Pradesh with the match against Haryana ending in a tie.
This year the tournament featured 38 teams, divided into five groups with the top 8 sides advancing to the quarter-finals.Goa was placed in Group E along with Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Baroda and Nagaland.
Goa started their Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign this season on a losing note as they lost to Madhya Pradesh by seven wickets in their opening encounter at the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai. Riding on a classy knock of 92 by Rahul Tripathi and fifties from skipper Darshan Misal (66) and Suyash Prabhudesai (56), Goa put on a decent total of 272/9 in 50 overs.
But, Madhya Pradesh (273/3) managed to chase that score in mere 39.4 overs thanks to its opener Himanshu Mantri who remained unbeaten on 127. For Goa, Darshan Misal picked up all the three wickets.
In the next encounter against Tamil Nadu at the Dadoji Konddev Stadium, Thane, Goa fell short by 33 runs. Riding on a superb knock of 125 by opener Sai Sudharsan, Tamil Nadu put up 296/8 in 50 overs. For Goa, Arjun Tendulkar and Darshan Misal picked up two wickets each. Chasing 297, Goa was bowled out for 263. Fifties from Krishnamurthy Siddharth (61) and Snehal Kauthankar (55) were not good enough for the Goan side to secure win against Tamil Nadu.
The third match saw Punjab comfortably defeating Goa by 67 runs at the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai. Batting first, Punjab was all out for 289. Ramandeep Singh (80) top scored for Punjab. For Goa, Lakshay Garg took four wickets with Darshan Misal and Arjun Tendulkar picking up three and two wickets each. Chasing 290, Goa was all out for 222 in 47.5 overs. Krishnamurthy Siddharth's 70 off 63 balls was the only highlight in Goa's innings.
In the fourth game, Goa secured their first win of the tournament by defeating a lowly rated Nagaland side by a whopping 232 runs at the Dadoji Konddev Stadium, Thane. Riding on centuries by Suyash Prabhudessai (132 not out) and Snehal Kauthankar (114), besides century plus stands for the first and second wicket, Goa put on a massive 383/6 in 50 overs. Nagaland was bowled out for just 151 in 39.1 overs thanks to brilliant bowling spells from Arjun Tendulkar (4/30) and Darshan Misal (2/23).
The next match against Bengal at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy BKC, Mumbai was a total flop-show by Goa. A team that had beaten Nagaland so comfortably in its previous match, was bowled out for just 106 in 28.4 overs against Bengal. Bengal (111/2) easily chased down the target with eight wickets and 165 balls to spare.
Goa could not even win their last game against Baroda at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy BKC, Mumbai. Batting first, Goa was bowled out for 228 in 48.4 overs. Snehal Kauthankar (50) top scored for Goa. Baroda (232/6) chased down the target in 47 overs with four wickets remaining.
For Goa, Suyash Prabhudessai (258 runs) and Snehal Kauthankar (248 runs) were the highest scorers while Darshan Misal (15 wickets) and Arjun Tendulkar (10 wickets) were the leading wicket takers.
But, it was a tournament lest to forget for Goan cricket and its fans.
