Ranji Trophy: Without three bowlers, Goa may fall short again

Panaji: Goa's campaign in the Ranji Trophy this season has been abysmal. Goa have played three matches in the Elite Group C so far and have already lost two, that too quite disappointingly.

The only positive result was against Jammu & Kashmir when the hosts rode on Snehal Kauthankar’s ton and earned a first innings lead. Goa have just three points from three games and are among the bottom-rankers in the group.

Goa now take on

Jharkhand

in the fourth match at the Academy ground,

Porvorim

, starting Wednesday, and will have to secure a positive result without three bowlers, all of whom are injured.

Last game's hero and pacer Krishna Das, who took 11 wickets against Haryana, has a quadricep injury and will be out of action for 15 days. Right-arm medium pacer Lakshay Garg, who has been equally good with chipping wickets at crucial junctions, is suffering from a finger injury, while Felix Alemao, known for his impressive opening spells, is nursing a back injury.

"It is a big blow for us to lose all three premier bowlers for our home game. We will have to make do with Amogh Desai as a medium pacer and hopefully the track will aid spinners from the first day," said Goa captain Sagun Kamat.

For Goa, batting remains an area for concern. Though Snehal hit an impressive century in the last home game, none of the batsmen have crossed the three-figure mark this season. Captain Sagun has played well but was unfortunate to miss out on a century in the last two games. Sumiran Amonkar, Darshan Misal, Amit Verma, Amogh Desai and wicketkeeper Keenan Vaz have all fallen short.

"Keenan remains our first choice as a wicketkeeper and we will stick with him. We know he has been short of runs but that can change in one game. Our batsmen must work hard and stay one step ahead. We can't give an excuse that the track helped seamers and spinners. We must apply ourselves," said Kamat.

Jharkhand have won a game and have nine points in their kitty. In a low scoring game, they overcame Haryana in the second round with Varun Aaron taking six wickets in the second innings to set up their nine-wicket win. In the other two matches, Jharkhand drew with Rajasthan and Assam but, importantly, took first innings lead in both matches.

They have the likes of Ishan Kishan, Saurabh Tiwary (both Mumbai Indians), Ishank Jaggi (Kolkata Knight Riders), Ankul Roy and Mohammad Nazim, who can send Goa bowlers on a leather hunt.

Goa’s best hopes remain a spinner-friendly track. Without frontline bowlers, the going will be tough, and if the batsmen don’t deliver, they will continue to lag far behind.