PANAJI
Goa suffered a narrow 15-run loss to Jharkhand in the Men's Under-23 State A Trophy Elite Tournament on Saturday. Jharkhand were bowled out for 269 in 49.3 overs. In reply, Goa's innings ended at 254 in 48 overs. The match was played at the GSFC Cricket Ground in Vadodara.
Goa won the toss and elected to bowl. For Jharkhand, Ravi Sharma top-scored with 70 runs. Goa's Kutbudin Jamadar, who took 4 wickets for 55 runs, was the team's most successful bowler. Vinayak Kunte, Anuj Yadav, Manish Kakode and Chittem Jeevankumar took one wicket each.
Goa then put up a good fight. Captain Shivendra Bhujbal scored 89 runs off 94 balls, hitting 5 fours and 6 sixes. Aryan Narvekar also struck a half-century, scoring 53, while opener Veer Yadav smashed 44 off just 27 balls. Despite these efforts, Goa fell short. For Jharkhand, Amit Kumar took 4 wickets for 37 runs.
After four matches with one win and three losses Goa stand seventh in Group B with 4 points. Goa'ss next match is against Andhra on November 17 at the Darshan Sports and Education Academy in Vadodara.
