Goa at 286/5 vs Vidarbha in Ranji tie; Ajay Ratra hits 84

Nagpur: A fighting unbeaten 84 by former international stumper Ajay Ratra and useful contributions from skipper Sridhar Sriram and Regan Pinto enabled Goa to reach 286 for five at close of play on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Plate Group tie against Vidarbha today.

Sriram (50) and Pinto (46) helped the visitors to recover after a slump at the Jamtha Stadium near here.

Making first use of the wicket, the young Goa side lost opener S Kamat (1) lbw to Alind Naidu. The visitors partially recovered through other opener Anup Kolambkar (38) and Sriram before the latter also fell to rival skipper Naidu.

Kolambkar later shared a 76-run stand for the third wicket with Pinto before being run out. Test discard Ratra, after a cautious start, held the innings together and saw the exit of Pinto and Rahul Kenni (20) with Goa at 213 for five.

However, an unbroken sixth wicket stand of 73 between Ratra and Saurabh Bandekar (30) stabilised Goa`s innings.

Ratra struck a dozen hits to the fence and looked in control. His innings could be crucial factor for Goa tomorrow.

For Vidarbha, Naidu (2 for 44) began well but failed to drive home the early advantage as the spinners lacked the bite on the decent batting track.

Brief scores: Goa 1st innings: 286 for 5 off 90 overs (Ajay Ratra batting 84, Sridhar Sriram 50, Saurabh Bandekar batting 30; Alind Naidu 2 for 44).

Bureau Report