Baroda made a steady start against Goa, closing the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group A encounter at 204/3 in 85 overs at the Panjim Gymkhana ground on Sunday. After winning the toss and opting to bat, the visitors negotiated Goa’s disciplined bowling before building momentum in the final session.
Goa had to wait until the second session for their first breakthrough. Off-spinner Mohit Redkar trapped opener Dhruv Patel leg-before for 30, ending a patient opening stand. Left-arm spinner Darshan Misal then bowled Priyanshu Moliya for 21 to leave Baroda at 117 for two at tea.
The opening partnership had yielded 62 runs in 32 overs, with Patel and Shivalik Sharma prioritising caution over aggression. Goa kept the scoring rate in check through the first two sessions, but the visitors gradually found their footing as the day progressed.
Shivalik Sharma anchored the innings with a composed 60 before becoming Goa’s third victim, caught by Lalit Yadav off Ruthvik Naik. However, Goa could not capitalise on the breakthrough as Shashwat Rawat and Deepak Hooda stitched a valuable unbeaten partnership.
Rawat, on 40, and Hooda, on 38, added 73 runs for the unbroken fourth-wicket partnership to lift Baroda to 204 for three at stumps. Their late resistance gave the visitors the upper hand heading into the second day.
Ruthvik Naik, Mohit Redkar and Darshan Misal picked up a wicket each for Goa, who will look to strike early on the second morning and prevent Baroda from building a substantial first-innings total.
Scorecard:
Baroda (1st Innings): Dhruv Patel lbw b Mohit Redkar 30, Shivalik Sharma c Lalit Yadav b Ruthvik Naik 60, Priyanshu Moliya b Darshan Misal 21, Shashwat Rawat not out 40, Deepak Hooda not out 38, Extras 13; Total: 204 for 3 in 85 overs.
Bowling: Vasuki Koushik 19-11-18-0, Ruthvik Naik 14-2-28-1, Lalit Yadav 15-2-41-0, Shubham Tari 6-0-26-0, Mohit Redkar 21-2-55-1, Darshan Misal 4-0-16-1, Abhinav Tejrana 2-0-3-0, Deepraj Gaonkar 4-1-11-0.
