Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Goa cruise to 8-wicket win over Haryana

Swapnil Asnodkar led the way for Goa to chase down Haryana's paltry score in 18 overs.

Rajkot: Apr 8, 2014

Captain Swapnil Asnodkar made an unbeaten 70 as South Zone toppers Goa beat Haryana by eight wickets in the opening match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy.

Goa skipper Asnodkar won the toss and decided to bowl first and his bowlers gave good response to the skippers decision restricting Haryana on 116 for nine wickets off 20 overs at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium (SCA) at Khandheri.

Goa chased the target losing only two wickets with two overs to spare. Asnodkar lost his partner Sagun (3) early but added 73 runs for the second wicket with Suraj Dongre (29). Swapnil made a smashing 70 facing 59 balls with seven fours and a six.

He remained unbeaten with the company of Rohit Asnodkar (11). For Haryana, Joginder Sharma and Kuldeep Hooda got a wicket each.

Earlier, after being invited to bat first, Haryana batsmen could not resist disciplined bowling led by Gauresh Gawas. Gawas did the early damage taking two wickets while skipper Rahul Dewan was run out after score one.

Only three batsmen could reach double digit for Haryana — Joginder Sharma (29), Rahul Dalal (25) and Sonu Rathi 13 unbeaten. For Goa, L Garg took three wickets conceding 31 runs while Gauresh Gawas grabbed two for 28.

Brief scores:

Haryana 116 for 9 off 20 overs (Joginder Sharma 29, Rahul Dalal 25, Sonu Rathi 13*, Lakshay Garg 3 for 31, Gauresh Gawas 2 for 28) lost to Goa 118 for 2 off 18 overs (Swapnil Asnodkar 70*, Suraj Dongre 29 Rohit Asnodkar 11*; Joginder Sharma 1 for 17) by 8 wickets