HYDERABAD: Goa pulled off a stunning six-wicket victory over Tamil Nadu in the penultimate league match of the K S Subbaiah Pillai South Zone one-day tournament and in the process were on the verge of qualifying for the all-India tourney for the first time in their history.
With three wins and one loss from four matches, Goa are placed behind toppers Karnataka, who cruised to their fourth successive win when they defeated Hyderabad by five wickets. Even if Goa lose the final league match against hosts Hyderabad on Thursday, after a day’s rest on Wednesday, the Swapnil Asnodkar-led team is better placed than Tamil Nadu.
Coached by Nuwan Zoysa, the former Sri Lankan left-arm seam bowler, Goa proved too good for TN. Playing an aggressive brand of cricket, Goa chose to bowl first and bundled out TN for 182 in 49.2 overs. There were three changes in the team and one of them was M Vijay. K H Gopinath, who came in on Tuesday, was out in the first over and B Aparajith left in the fourth.
Chasing an easy target of 183, the Goan openers Amogh Desai and Swapnil Asnodkar took Goa home in just 33.3 overs.
Tanmay Ton in Vain
There was a much improved batting display and century on debut by left-hander Tanmay Agarwal (136; 123b, 13x4, 4x6) but Hyderabad suffered their fourth successive loss as Karnataka made short work of a big target by five wickets.
Brief scores: Tamil Nadu 182 in 49.2 ovs (R Sathish 67; S Bandekar 3-43, Robin D’Souza 3-36) lost to Goa 184-4 in 33.2 ovs (Amogh Desai 68, Swapnil Asnodkar 77). Kerala 202-9 in 50 ovs (Sachin Baby 64; Stephen 4-46) lost to Andhra 206-4 in 43 ovs (K S Bharath 65, Ricky Bhui 48 no). Hyderabad 295-7 in 50 ovs (G H Vihari 82, Tanmay Agarwal 136, Ashish Reddy 51; S Arvind 4-41) lost to Karnataka 300-5 in 48 ovs (Mayank Agarwal 70, K L Rahul 53, S Bhavane 81 no, Manish Pandey 56).