Rookie pacer Vijesh Prabhudesai snaps up maiden five-wicket haul
BASIL SYLVESTER PINTO
PANAJI
Goa’s young pacer Vijesh Prabhudesai signalled his arrival on the big stage of domestic cricket with a 5-52 effort to have Services all out for a lowly 184 in 71.3 overs on Day 1 of the Rd V Elite Group C Ranji Trophy match played at the GCA Academy ground, Porvorim on Thursday.
In reply, Goa was 27/1 in 14 overs when stumps were called still 157 runs in arrears of the visitors first innings total. The home side lost struggling opener, Amogh Desai for 5 claimed by pacer, Sachidanand Pandey. His opening partner, Sumiran Amonkar was batting patiently on a 45-ball 8 while captain Sagun Kamat was on 9.
Electing to field to capitalize on the few millimetres of grass on the wicket and seaming conditions, the Goa new-ball pair of Lakshay Garg and the retained Vijesh Prabhudesai did not disappoint. Jharkhand lost their first wicket at 12 with opener Aanshul Gupta (10) scalped by Garg. While the other opener, N K Singh began to settle in with one-down, Ravi Chauhan, misfortune took a turn. At the score of 54/1, Chauhan complained of dizziness and left the field retired ill after looking good on 22 from 45 balls studded with five boundaries and spending 75 minutes at the wicket. With the set Chauhan off field, Goa found an opening to wrest control over the game on a wicket that was helpful to the seamers.
While Garg bowled well in patches, Vijesh maintained a steady line and length that began to yield fruition. N K Singh after doing the hard yards lost his wicket for an 81-ball 23 with Vijesh providing the breakthrough and having two new man at the crease. Vijesh was to continue with the damages to hasten Services collapse to 99/5 at the start of the 39th over, by snapping the next three wickets to fall.
From the precarious position the visitors were now at, Chauhan came back to the crease to try and arrest the free-fall. By the time he was the ninth man out on 176, he had played an instrumental part in some kind of revival by making 75 (144b, 11x4, 1x6) in a 201-minute vigil intermediating between restraint and aggression. Services lost their last wicket on 184 in 71.3 overs when Akash Sharma (6) tried to hoick Garg over fine leg to be caught smartly by Amulya Pandrekar.
Only a couple of overs earlier, in a bizarre stoppage of play, all the players on field including the umpires lay prostrate chest down on the turf with a swarm of bees invading the playing area.
The influence of pace in the Goa attack was emphasized by the introduction of spin only in the 43rd over with slow left-arm orthodox bowler, Amulya Pandrekar into the attack and providing almost near dividends by picking the stick of wicket-keeper and middle-order batsman, Devender Lohchab for 20.
In the Goa attack, pacer Vijesh Prabhudesai was a stand-out with 5/52 while slow bowler Amulya Pandrekar did well with 3/37.
Mohammad Aasaduddin, son of India great, Mohammad Azharuddin was surprisingly handed his First Class debut by his team captain coming in place of another middle-order batsman, Suyash Prabudessai who looked good top-scoring for his side in their second innings (39) against Jharkhand. A fit-again pacer, Lakshay Garg replaced talented young batsman, Vishamber Kahlon.
