Goa outlast Andhra in a thriller
ESPNcricinfo staff
February 17,
Goa 245 for 9 (Pinto 119*, Ajay Kumar 3-42) beat Andhra 241 (Venugopal Rao 82, Sumanth 58, Gadekar 4-67) by one wicket
Scorecard
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Goa squeaked past Andhra by one wicket with one ball to spare in a thrilling encounter at the Perintalmanna Cricket Stadium in Malappuram. The win was Goa's third in five games, leaving them tied on points with Karnataka though after playing an extra match, while Andhra languished close to the bottom of the table after their fourth loss in five games.
Goa chose to field and the decision was vindicated by the opening bowlers who restricted Andhra to 17 for 2. Satyakumar Verma hit five fours in his 23 to revive the innings, but his dismissal in the 17th over prompted Venugopal Rao into consolidation mode. Bodapati Sumanth played in a similar vein and the pair played through the bulk of the innings, adding 112 in 33.1 overs before Rao departed for 82 off 96 balls. Sumanth lost his wicket soon after, and the lower crumbled in a spate of wickets, depriving the innings of late momentum. Harshad Gadekar and Shadab Jakati snared seven wickets, making up for the fact that they conceded 117 runs between them, as Andhra were bowled out for 241.
Goa's chase was stalled by Ajay Kumar and Deepak Kumar and, when Ajay Ratra departed at 42 for 4 in the 13th over, they seemed in line for a defeat. Reagan Pinto, however, had other ideas and calmly revived the innings in the company of Jakati and Amit Yadav. The duo helped Pinto add 45 and 66 runs respectively, before the game changed once again. Goa crumbled from 153 for 4 to 192 for 9 in the 44th over, raising Kerala's hopes of a second win. Pinto kept going, bringing up his maiden first-class century, while No. 11 Gadekar swung a four and a six in his 17 off 16 balls. The pair scored the winning runs off the penultimate ball, with Pinto unbeaten on a memorable 119, with ten fours and a six in his innings.
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