Team Goemkarponn
Panaji: Goa suffered their second defeat in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, going down to Hyderabad by seven wickets on Sunday at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Despite posting a competitive 160/4, Goa’s bowling attack couldn’t contain Hyderabad, who chased down the target in a blistering 14 overs.
Put in to bat, Goa had a shaky start as openers Arjun Tendulkar (7) and Ishan Gadekar (1) fell early. Abhinav Tejarana (21 off 14) and Deepraj Gaonkar (23 off 20) tried to stabilise the innings, but it was Lalit Yadav’s sensational knock that lifted the team. Lalit hammered an unbeaten 85 off 48 balls, smashing 10 fours and 3 sixes, rescuing Goa from 67/4 and stitching a vital 93-run stand with Darshan Misal (18*).
Hyderabad’s Tanay Thyagarajan stood out with the ball, returning impressive figures of 2/20.
In reply, Hyderabad came out all guns blazing. Skipper Pragyan Reddy led from the front with a commanding 67* off 34 deliveries, featuring 4 fours and 5 sixes. Aman Rao chipped in with a solid 40, ensuring the chase remained on track. Goa’s bowlers—Deepraj Gaonkar, Darshan Misal and Vikas Singh—picked one wicket apiece but couldn’t stem the flow of runs.
With this loss, Goa remain on 4 points in the Elite B group. After an opening defeat to Uttar Pradesh and a win over Chandigarh, they will look to regroup ahead of their next clash against Madhya Pradesh on December 2.
