Hyderabad, Sept. 22: The dark clouds that hovered over the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium towards close on the second and penultimate day of the Moin-ud Dowla Gold Cup final summed up Goa’s show in the final against Hyderabad President’s XI — gloomy and disappointing.
The hosts took stronghold in the contest by bowling out their opponents for 209, thereby giving themselves a realistic chance of laying their hands on the coveted Cup. For the home team, skipper Ravi Teja, who had a forgetful outing with the willow, turned things around with the ball, taking 3 for 20 in a spell that took the wind out of Goa’s sail.
The visitors began the day on a positive note with openers Sagun Kamat (56) and Advait Katkar (37) making life easy for their side with an opening stand of 86. Sagun, who looked comfortable at the crease, departed to a well-judged catch by ’keeper Habeeb Ahmed off M.A. Khader. Sagun’s knock may have been the perfect launchpad for his side, but the batsmen who walked in next fell prey to ordinary batting and some atrocious running between the wickets.
The post-lunch session of the day saw Goa losing the plot completely. With Ravi’s golden arm keeping them under check, run-outs of Vaibhav Naik (23) and Reegan Pinto (25) at crucial junctures slowed down things further. From a commanding position of 86 for 1 before lunch, Goa slipped to 160 for 7.
Unlike the Hyderabad side whose lower-order gave ample proof of its mettle, the Goans were found lacking. Amit Yadav, Goa’s No.10 batsman did wage a lone battle in the middle but lack of support from the other end proved to be his undoing as the side succumbed to the inevitable in 84.5 overs.
Scoreboard
HCA President’s XI (1st innings) 349/9
Goa (1st innings): S. Kamat c Habeeb b Khader 56, A. Katkar b Teja 37, V. Naik run out 23, N. Pawaskar lbw Teja 2, Reegan Pinto run out 25, R. Keni c Habeeb b Bist 17, S. Bandekar st Habeeb b Bist 0, R. D’ Souza c&b Harshavardhan 5, S.B. Yadav c Habeeb b Naidu 2, Amit Yadav lbw Ravi Teja 27, Harshad Gadekar n.o. 8.
Extras: (b-1, nb-3, w-3) 7
Total (all out in 84.5 overs) 209.
Fall Of wickets: 1-86, 2-112, 3-114, 4-141, 5-154, 6-155, 7-160, 8-163, 9-191, 10-209.
Bowling: M.A. Khader 14-3-45-1, K. Naidu 16-3-32-1, Harshavardhan 30-7-64-1, M. Gabriel 6-0-32-0, Ravi Teja 10.5-5-20-3, Neeraj Bist 8-0-15-2.