Shillong, Nov 4: Goa claimed a 270-run first innings lead against Meghalaya after a sensational 195 by Shivendra Bhujbal took the visitors to 372 all out on the third day of their U-23 men’s Col CK Nayudu Trophy Elite Group match at the MCA Ground, Polo, here today.
At stumps, Meghalaya were 18/0 in their second innings, needing another 252 just to make Goa bat again.
Goa resumed play today on 4/1 in response to Meghalaya’s first innings total of 102. Conditions were excellent for bowling yesterday and continued to be the same this morning, with Meghalaya reducing Goa to 24/4 and then 55/5.
Anuj Yadav then made 49 (82 balls, 8x4s) in a 78-run stand with Shivendra, which eased Goa’s worries somewhat but Meghalaya would have still hoped to knock their opponents over for under 200 when Goa were 186/8.
However, by this time the sun had dried up any remaining moisture in the pitch and batting was a lot easier. Nevertheless, the hosts will have been disappointed not to remove No. 10 batter Pundalik Naik, who made 50 (86 balls, 6x4s). It was a ninth wicket partnership between Pundalik and Shivendra that really took the day away from Meghalaya as they put on 170 together.
Shivendra reached his century just before tea and then went hammer and tongs in the third session, dealing in boundaries – 13 massive sixes and 17 fours. Incidentally, he hit at least one maximum off six of the seven Meghalaya bowlers used today. Shivendra was the last man out, falling to PM Santhosh (4/66, 20.3 overs) just short of a double century.
Earlier, Santhosh and fellow pace bowler Sudhir Sahani (5/75, 21 overs) dominated the morning session with their attacking fast bowling that rattled Goa. Sudhir started things off in the first over of the day, removing Chittem Devankumar for a duck and went from strength to strength after that.
As the pitch settled down and the ball got older, the two fast bowlers also lost a bit of pace under the hot sun. Meghalaya turned to spinners Manish Sharma, Gavineal Marpna and Kevin Christopher but they were hit to all corners by Shivendra. Only Manish (1/60) found any success, removing Pandalik, but by that time too much damage had been done.
Meghalaya’s openers were then faced with a tricky half an hour to bat. After their sensational innings, it was fair to say that Goa were buoyant in the field. However, Sachin Kumar (10 not out) and Avinash Rai (8 not out) held it together for Meghalaya and survived the pressure. Victory for Meghalaya is out of the question but if they bat brilliantly on the last day tomorrow they could come away with a draw, which would be an impressive feat.
