Porvorim: Left-arm spinner Tanay Thyagarajan emerged the hero of the day as Manas Panjim Gymkhana bowled Chowgule SC out cheaply before moving into a decent position at Stumps on Day 1 of the GCA Goa Premier League three-dayers final being played with the Pink Ball for the first time, at Goa Cricket Association Academy ground here on Monday.
Tanay’s stunning return of 7/51 saw Chowgule, who elected to bat first, collapse from 66/2 to 130/7 that also included the scalp of reliable batter and Chowgule captain Darshan Misal for just 5 runs. Aryan Narvekar, who was lucky to survive a stumping opportunity, provided lone resistance to relentless spin attack as the left-hander scored 74 runs off 170 balls, which included six boundaries and 2 sixes. His inning, lasting 262 minutes, came to an end with Pulkit Narang (2/57) trapping the opener LBW and also becoming leading wicket-taker of the tournament with 26 wickets to his name.
Manas Panjim Gymkhana with their turn to bat, ended the day at 74/2. Opening pair of Manthan Khutkar (46) and Jeevan Chittem (3) were out, while Yogesh Kauthankar (17) and Shamik Kamat (4) were at the crease when stumps were drawn for the day. Second day’s play will begin at 1.30pm on Tuesday.
Earlier, the ‘Pink Ball’ final commenced with GCA President, Vipul Phadke, joint-secretary Rupesh Naik and Director of Cricket Operations, Prakash Mayenkar in attendance among others.
