Vijay Hazare Trophy 2019-20 | Aditya Kaushik ton and Darshan Misal's four wickets hand Goa first win
Goa registered their first win of this year’s Vijay Hazare Trophy with a 42-run win over Jharkhand in Bengaluru. The wins came courtesy of a 110-ball 117 by Aditya Kaushik to take their total to 266 for eight, before Darshan Misal’s four for 35 helped bowl out Jharkhand for 224 in 48.1 overs.
After a rocky start which saw their opening clash washed out and their reduced match against Andhra Pradesh end in a seven-wicket defeat, Goa bounced back well at the Just Cricket Academy Ground on Sunday. Jharkhand skipper Ishan Kishan’s decision to put in the opposition looked a wise move as they had Goa 35 for two in the 12th over and 105 for four in the 28th. However, wicket-keeper batsman CM Gautam strung an 87-run stand together with Aditya to propel his team close to 200. After Gautam’s dismissal, Aditya marched on to complete his century, which included 12 fours and three maximums. Pacer Rahul Shukla was the lone warrior for the boys from Jharkhand with the ball, as he finished with career-best figures of six for 33.
In reply, Jharkhand was pegged back early as they lost both their openers with only 14 on the board. Although their middle-order all got starts — Kishan top-scoring with a patient 43 — the Goan bowlers kept picking up wickets at regular intervals. The best they could put up was a 77-run stand between the skipper and Virat Singh, both of whom were sent packing by the left-arm spin of Misal in the 37th over. From there on, despite his 33-ball 40, Anukul Roy could only delay the inevitable — a 42-run defeat.