PANAJI
Snehal Kauthankar hit a brilliant unbeaten century against Mizoram to put Goa in a commanding position at end of day 1 of the Ranji Trophy Plate group match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
At stumps, Goa were 322/3 in 92 overs.
Batting at number four position, Snehal remained unbeaten on 135 while his partner Deepraj Gaonkar was playing on 50.
Choosing to bat first, Goa’s batters completely dominated the day’s proceedings with the Mizoram bowlers failing to make any impact.
Continuing with his good form from his last match against Nagaland wherein he had scored 75, Snehal Kauthankar hit his eighth first-class hundred. His classic knock of 135 not out off 208 balls included 14 boundaries.
Snehal, one of the few batsmen from Goa who has scored more than 3000 runs in first-class cricket, was equally supported by opener Manthan Khutkar. Manthan and Snehal put on 159 runs partnership off 241 balls for the third wicket before Manthan was clean bowled by KC Cariappa for 95, just felling short of his second first-class hundred. Manthan's knock of 95 off 187 balls included 2 sixes and 11 fours.
After Manthan’s dismissal, Snehal and Deepraj Gaonkar put on an unbeaten 112 run stand off 173 balls for the fourth wicket before close of play.
Deepraj hit his third first-class fifty to remain unbeaten on 50 off 97 balls which included five boundaries.
Earlier in the day, Goa did not start on a good note as opener Rohan Kadam and debutant Kashyap Bakle were dismissed cheaply with the scoreboard reading 59-2. Both of them scored mere 13 runs each.
Mizoram gave away 16 runs in extras (No Ball – 2, Bye - 10, Leg Bye – 4).
For Mizoram, KC Cariappa (2/121) was the most successful bowler with two wickets while skipper Bobby Zothansanga (1/53) bagged a wicket. Infact, all the three Goan batsmen were clean bowled.
Goa’s prolific run scorer Suyash Prabhudessai who had missed out the last match against Nagaland due to an injury was once again ruled out for this match as well as he has still not recovered completely.
Currently, Goa leads the points table in Plate group with 19 points having won all their three matches against Manipur, Sikkim and Nagaland.
Brief Score
Goa (First Innings) – 322/3 in 92 overs (Snehal Kauthankar 135 not out, Manthan Khutkar 95, Deepraj Goankar 50 not out, KC Cariappa 2/121, Bobby Zothansanga 1/53)
