THEY came up with their best show in the last league match of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy but Vidarbha could still not end up on winning side and will return home empty-handed with no points from five games of the season opening BCCI Twenty20 tournament. At the Emerald High School Ground in Indore on Tuesday, Goa defeated Vidarbha by 16 runs inflicting fifth loss in a row upon former Ranji Trophy and Irani Cup champions. Electing to bat first, Goa made a competitive 156-6 and then restricted Vidarbha to 140-8.

 

 

Vidarbha started their campaign against Rajasthan going down by three wickets (with over five overs to spare) in a low scoring game. Then Saurashtra humbled them by 79 runs. In their third game, hosts Madhya Pradesh pipped them by 21 runs. In the next game that was played under lights, Services cruised to an eight-wicket win with almost three overs still to be bowled. Vidarbha had their best chance of recording a win over Goa but senior and set batsmen Apoorv Wankhade (27; 22b, 3x4) and Akshay Karnewar (31; 22b, 2x4, 2x6) got out at crucial juncture exposing the tail. The duo were doing a good job and before Karnewar departed, Vidarbha needed 33 from 15 balls.

 

The tail comprising all-rounder Darshan Nalkande (2), Yash Thakur (1) and Aditya Thakare (4) could manage just seven runs from 12 balls. Earlier, Goa had a poor start and by 4.5 overs they were struggling at 23-3 with young seamers Nalkande (1-41), Thakur (3-36) and Thakare (2-18) taking one each. Skipper Amit Verma (72*; 46b, 8x4, 3x6) and Snehal Kauthankar (35; 30b, 1x4, 2x6) did the repair job and in the end Darshan Misal (13*; 6b, 1x4, 1x6) ensured the team crossed the 150-mark.

 

Goa bowlers complemented well bowling a disciplined line and took wickets on regular intervals. Right-arm pacer Felix Alemao (3-27) returned with his best T20 figures from 12 games. Vidarbha will have to do a lot of soul searching on returning back. The shorter formats have not been Vidarbha’s forte. They had minimal of practise due to the local protocols in place for COVID-19 but that cannot be just excuse for such a poor show.