Captain Verma leads by example, Goa earn bonus point

PORVORIM: Goa picked up a bonus point (6+1) against Meghalaya after recording an innings and eight run victory in the Plate Division Ranji Trophy match at the Academy ground, Porvorim, on Friday. The hosts had missed the bonus point after winning by nine wickets against Sikkim in the opener.
Goa captain Verma was the most successful bowler, picking up six wickets for 72.This was Verma’s fourth five-wicket haul. Meghalaya's second innings folded up for 252-9 in 81 overs. Dwaraka Ravi Teja, first innings’ highest scorer for Meghalaya, didn’t come out to bat following an injury.
With back-to-back victories at home, Goa have garnered 13 points and are placed second behind Puducherry (14).
For a better part of the first session, Amit was a worried man. Goa's lead of 115 runs was getting erased. Resuming on overnight score of 145-5, the sixth-wicket pair of Sanjay Yadav and Abhay Negi played well and were inching towards the 200-run mark. They saw off 20.5 overs and put up 89 runs before Verma introduced himself.
Abhay scored his half-century and then got complacent. The pitch, showing no sign of deterioration, played the trick too. Trying to play Verma across the line, Abhay completely missed the straight one, which kept little low. The Goa players' celebration told the story. Suddenly there was a sense of belief that they won't have to bat again.
Sanjay, sensing he will run out of partners, too played a rash shot. He tried to hit Verma out of the ground, only to offer a high catch to the captain who made no mistake. At that stage, Goa still had a 35-run lead.
Mark Ingty and Dippu Sangma applied themselves. Mark offered straight bat shots and took no chances, while Dippu, though not convincing, soldiered on.
Verma foxed Dippu with a googly that sneaked between bat and pad. The 10th-man, Akash Kumar, lasted only two balls as Verma signed off by trapping him in front of the wicket.
"It was a close match not in terms of result but bonus point. We didn't want to bat again. I tried few bowlers, but we didn't find much success. They were playing with an attitude of denying us the bonus point. If they had done so, it was a win for them.
“I didn't take the new ball fearing a couple of edges will result in losing invaluable runs and we would have been forced to bat again. With new ball, you can never be sure," said Verma.
Goa play Bihar in Patna next week.