PANAJI
In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Elite T20 cricket tournament, the Goa team fought hard but went down to Uttar Pradesh by 6 wickets on Wednesday. Batting first, Goa posted a competitive total of 172 for 9 in 20 overs. Uttar Pradesh chased down the target, scoring 173 for 4 in 18.2 overs at the JU Second Campus, Salt Lake Ground in Kolkata.
For Goa, Abhinav Tejarana played a brilliant attacking knock, smashing 72 runs off just 35 balls with 4 fours and 6 sixes, giving the team much-needed momentum. Leg-spinner Vipraj Nigam eventually dismissed him. Arjun Tendulkar was tried as an opener for this match and contributed a useful 28 off 22 balls. Vikas Singh added an unbeaten 21 off 14 balls, helping Goa finish strongly.
India's experienced pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar made an impact for Uttar Pradesh with figures of 2 for 23, while Shivam Mavi picked up 3 wickets for 24.
Chasing the target, UP suffered an early setback when skipper Karan Sharma was dismissed for a duck, giving Goa an encouraging start. However, wicketkeeper Aryan Juyal held firm and scored a match-winning unbeaten 93 off 57 balls, hitting 11 boundaries and 3 sixes. Priyam Garg (28) and Sameer Rizvi (38) offered him steady support.
For Goa, V. Koushik bowled effectively, taking 2 wickets for 30 runs, while Deepraj Gaonkar impressed with figures of 2 for 19.
Goa will look to bounce back strongly in their next match against Chandigarh on Friday, the 28th, at Eden Gardens.
