PANAJI
Goa will start as favourites when they face hosts Nagaland in the final of the Ranji Trophy Plate group at Dimapur, Nagaland from 23 – 27 January 2025.
Goa did extremely well this season by winning all their five games and thereby topping the points table of Ranji Plate group with 33 points.
Goa defeated Manipur, Sikkim, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh. Even though the wins may have come against lower-ranked sides; it was a good solid all-round performance by Goa with both theirs batters and bowlers contributing to their victories.
In fact, in the group stage, Goa had defeated Nagaland by 83 runs in a closely fought encounter at the Panjim Gymkhana.
Multiple players contributed to Goa’s success this Ranji season; with five different players winning the ‘Player of the Match’ awards – Shubham Tari, Krishnamurthy Siddharth, Darshan Misal, Snehal Kauthankar and Kashyap Bakhale, with Kauthankar winning it twice.
Snehal Kauthankar who top scored with 684 runs was undoubtedly Goa’s star performer. His classic knocks of 250 against Mizoram at Ahmedabad which was followed by 314 not out against Arunachal Pradesh at Porvorim were the highlights. In fact, his innings against Arunachal was the highest individual score by a Goan batsman in first-class cricket.
During that match, Kauthankar and Kashyap Bakhale recorded the highest partnership in Ranji with their unbroken 606 runs stand against Arunachal Pradesh. In the process, Bakhale also scored his maiden triple ton as he remained unbeaten on 300. In fact, Snehal and Kashyap slammed the second and third-fastest first-class triple tons by an Indian. That match saw a number of records being broken.
Other centurions for Goa were Krishnamurthy Siddharth (130 not out) and Manthan Khutkar (104) against Sikkim. Opener Suyash Prabhudessai (120) also hit a hundred. It was against Manipur in the opening match at Porvorim.
Among other top performers for Goa was its skipper Darshan Misal who was the highest wicket-taker with 25 wickets, which included two five-wicket hauls, 6/71 against Mizoram and 5/51 against Nagaland. In fact, Darshan was one of the key elements in Goa’s victories over Mizoram and Nagaland.
With 18 wickets, Mohit Redkar was the second highest wicket taker for Goa, which included a five-wicket haul (5/43) against Mizoram.
Shubham Tari shone on his debut against Manipur to pick up nine wickets (9/88) in an innings.
Arjun Tendulkar also performed reasonably well to pick up 16 wickets, which included his maiden five-wicket haul (5/25) against Arunachal Pradesh.
On the other hand, Nagaland finished the group stage on second position with 23 points (3 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw) behind Goa. The Nagaland side, whose batting coach is former Goa captain Swapnil Asnodkar, showcased resilience and determination throughout their campaign. Despite a loss to Goa in the group stage, Nagaland fought back to finish second in the points table and earn its place in the final.
Before start of the season, former India international and Goa’s Ranji coach Dinesh Mongia had expressed confidence of a good performance from his boys.
"My main goal would be to get Goa back to the Elite group,” Mongia had said.
As the first two-ranked sides in Plate group, Goa and Nagaland have already qualified for Ranji Elite Group for next season.
Though Goa enters the final as a formidable contender, the Nagaland side cannot be underestimated. It has the capability to change things around and rewrite the script.
SQUADS
Goa: Darshan Misal (captain), Kashyap Bakhale, Suyash Prabhudessai, Samar Dubhashi (wicket-keeper), Deepraj Gaonkar, Rohan Kadam, Snehal Kauthankar, Manthan Khutkar, Krishnamurthy Siddharth, Heramb Parab, Keith Pinto, Mohit Redkar, Arjun Tendulkar, Shubham Tari and Ruthvik Naik
Nagaland: Rongsen Jonathan (captain), Hokaito Zhimomi (vice-captain), Afzal Hussain, Chetan Bist (wicket-keeper), Dip Borah, Hem Chetri, Chopise Hopongkyu, Imliwati Lemtur, Nagaho Chishi, Dega Nischal, Joshua Ozukum, Sedezhalie Rupero, Jagadeesha Suchith, Raja Swarnkar and Tahmeed Rahman
