PANAJI
Goa produced a spirited performance to stun holders Tamil Nadu by seven wickets in the Elite Group A Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match in Lucknow on Monday.
Left-arm pacer Shrikant Wagh claimed a four-wicket haul before Shubham Ranjane (52 not out, 42b, 3x4, 2x6) and Suyash Prabhudessai (43 not out, 24b, 1x4, 3x6) put on a partnership of 71 for the fourth wicket to guide Goans to the 137-run target with eight balls to spare for their second win in the tournament.
Goa asked Tamil Nadu to bat first and the bowlers did a good job of containing the defending champions in the middle overs.
Tamil Nadu made a sedate start to be 38/2 after the PowerPlay but then lost three key wickets to slump to 56/5 by the 11th over. A 67-run sixth-wicket partnership between Shahrukh Khan (26, 3x4) and Sanjay Yadav (38, 2x4, 2x6) helped them post 136 for 9.
Goa were put under early pressure in the modest chase as medium-pacer P Saravana Kumar (2-17) scalped opener Eknath Kerkar (0) and one-down batsman Lakshay Garg (0) bowled in the first over. However, Goa No. 2 Aditya Kaushik (41, 43b, 4x4) and Shubham steadied the innings with a 66-run stand for the third wicket. Kaushik departed in the 12th over but Suyash and Shubham joined forces to take Goa over the line.
With 4 points from the win, Goa moved into the fourth spot in the group with 8 points while Tamil Nadu are tied on points (12 pts) with Punjab and Maharashtra. Goa will take on Maharashtra in their last group fixture on Tuesday. The group toppers will progress to the quarter-finals while the second-placed team will play pre-quarterfinals.
