Medium-pacer Md. Siraj, playing his second Ranji match, bowled well to claim four for 14 and help Hyderabad restrict Goa to 164 on the first day of the four-day Ranji Trophy Group C match at the old VCA Stadium here on Thursday. Hyderabad was 28 for one at close of play.
Electing to bat, Goa had a dismal morning session with the Hyderabad pacers exploiting the extra bounce and carry in the pitch.
The lanky Ravi Kiran struck the first blow when he squared up opener Amogh Desai to edge to wicketkeeper K. Sumanth in the 11th over. Soon, he forced Goa captain Sagun Kamat to snick behind, thanks to extra bounce and late swing.
Then, Siraj trapped Darshan Misal leg before with his first ball of the innings and left-armer Chama Milind compounded the misery for Goa by inducing a loose stroke from Swapnil Asnodkar.
In poor waySiraj was pleasantly surprised to see the umpire uphold a half-hearted appeal for a caught-behind decision against Keenan Vaz — leaving Goa in dire straits at 30 for five.
However, the experienced Snehal Kauthankar (38, 140b, 5 x 4) and Saurabh Bandekar (59, 144b, 8x4, 1x6) put on a 80-run stand for the sixth wicket to dent Hyderabad’s hopes of wrapping up the innings cheaply.
It was also the partnership during which the spinners — left-armer Mehdi Hasan and Vishal Sharma —were not equal to the task.
Part-time left-arm spinner B. Sandeep broke the stand when he lured Kauthankar into a drive, only to give a simple catch to B. Anirudh at covers. Goa’s tail did not wag as Siraj came back strongly to finish with a creditable four-wicket haul.
The scores:
Goa — 1st innings: Amogh Desai c Sumanth b Ravi Kiran 10, Swapnil Asnodkar b Chama Milind 15, Sagun Kamat c Sumanth b Ravi Kiran 0, Darshan Misal lbw b Md. Siraj 1, Snehal Kauthankar c Anirudh b B. Sandeep 38, Keenan Vaz c Sumanth b Md. Siraj 3, Saurabh Bandekar c Milind b Md. Siraj 59, Shadab Jakati c Milind b Vishal Sharma 11, Ritu Raj Singh b Md. Siraj 6, Amit Yadav st. Sumanth b Vishal Sharma 16, Harshad Gadekar (not out) 2; Extras (lb-3) 3; Total (in 74 overs): 164.
Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-22, 3-27, 4-27, 5-30, 6-110, 7-140, 8-140, 9-140.
Hyderabad bowling: Ravi Kiran 13-6-30-2, Chama Milind 14-8-23-1, Mehdi Hasan 19-5-44-0, Md Siraj 15-9-14-4, Vishal Sharma 10-1-42-2, B. Sandeep 3-2-8-1.
Hyderabad — 1st innings: Tanmay Agarwal b Gadekar 10, P. Akshath Reddy batting 18, Vishal Sharma batting 0; Total (for one wkt. in 10 overs): 28.
Fall of wicket: 1-21.
Goa bowling: Ritu Raj Singh 4-2-8-0, Saurabh Bandekar 3-0-14-0, Amit Yadav 1-1-0-0, Shadab Jakati 1-0-4-0, Harshad Gadekar 1-0-2-1
Toss: Goa .
