Goa skipper Swapnil Asnodkar came up with an aggressive knock, blunting the Haryana attack with an unbeaten 70 off 59 balls.
Chasing an easy target of 117 in the Mushtaq Ali T20 Super League Group A opener, Goa coasted to an eight-wicket win at the SCA stadium, Khanderi. In another match, Gujarat defeated Jharkhand by six wickets.
Suraj Dongre made 29 off 29 balls in a second wicket stand worth 73 runs with Asnodkar. The Goa captain started with a six in the first over, stepping out to former India medium-pacer Joginder Sharma and flicking over square-leg.
Haryana felt the match slipping away when the stocky opener made space for fierce punches through the off-side, slamming seven fours and a six. Goa was at full strength, fielding the same squad which topped South Zone in the earlier phase.
Earlier, Haryana, put in, slumped to 76 for five at the halfway mark and Joginder’s top-score of 29 off 29 balls (five boundaries) was not enough to dent the Goan bowlers’ confidence.
Medium-pacers Lakshya Garg, Gauresh Gawas and Harshad Gadekar benefitted from the impatience of the batsmen to pick up two wickets apiece.
Youngsters to the foreThe second Group A match, played in searing afternoon heat, saw defending champion Gujarat hardly missing a step against Jharkhand.
With the regulars away preparing for IPL-VII, the youngsters in the team stepped up to claim their place.
Fast bowler Kamlesh Thakore’s three for 19 and support from the other bowlers saw Jharkhand struggling to 108 in the allotted 20 overs.
Gujarat’s chase was marshalled by wicketkeeper and captain Smit Patel, who stroked an unbeaten 46 (37b, 6x4) after openers Priyank Panchal and Rajdeep Darbar (25 off 17 balls) added 36 in five overs.
Gujarat crossed the line in 18 overs, serving notice to other teams.
The scores:
Haryana 116 for nine in 20 overs (Joginder Sharma 29, Rahul Dalal 25, Lakshya Garg two for 30, Gauresh Gawas two for 28, Harshad Gadekar two for 17) lost to Goa 117 for two in 18 overs (Swapnil Asnodkar 70 not out, Suraj Dongre 29).
Points: Goa 4, Haryana 0 .
Jharkhand 108 for eight in 20 overs (Kumar Debnath 25, Chintan Gaja two for 18, Kamlesh Thakore three for 19) lost to Gujarat 110 for four in 18 overs (Rajdeep Darbar 25, Smit Patel 46 not out, S. Quadri three for 16).
Gujarat 4, Jharkhand 0 .
