SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2024
AJIT JOHN
PANJIM: With the season ended, Goa was in the running for a spot in the quarterfinals of the Ranji Trophy. But the challenge fizzled when the State team lost to Chhattisgarh by 8 wickets. It was a very disappointing end to a season that started off in a decent manner but then just fell away.
It was a season that saw the State win against Kerala, a team ranked higher in the larger scheme of things but then Goa conspired to lose to Chhattisgarh. They were beaten by 8 wickets. This is a team that has consistently underperformed every year. Former players and administrators talk of the natural talent present in each player but that does not seem to translate into results on the field.
Prakash Mayekar, the Head Coach said the team had performed well during the season but the loss in two matches resulted in them missing a spot in the quarter finals. Mayekar said, “We should have qualified but for the losses in those two matches. I feel this happened because the players played bad shots during good times. Meaning when the players were in form and going along well they played a bad shot and got out. The players wanted to beat the opposition and went too aggressive and paid the price”.
Speaking about the performance of players in the squad he said it would have been nice if the batsmen scored four centuries and three or four half centuries. Here he said batsmen would score a hundred and then get out for low scores in the next couple of matches. The batsmen, he said, had to be determined and more focussed on the task at hand. They, he said, needed to be more hungry.
Speaking about Arjun Tendulkar, Mayekar said he did very well in the 20:20 and one day matches. With regards to the Ranji campaign, Mayekar said he started off very well with a hundred in his first match but fell away though he bowled very well snagging 12 wickets.
He said it was important for the team to play more matches. Since the season in Goa was restricted to just 4 or five months due to the long monsoon, this meant pitches were prepared late and the team would not get many matches. The team had to go to other centres to play and get match practice. This year the team went to Chandigarh and played matches.
Now that the Ranji campaign had ended the association intended to conduct the premier league which comprised 6 teams playing matches over three days. Players with injuries could go for rehabilitation and others could work on their fitness. Players could also go outside and play for teams to gain more experience.
Asked if there were any promising new players coming through the system, he said there was a fast bowler called Shubham Kadi who was playing in the u-25 competitions. He was not selected this year because Mayekar said Goa had a well settled attack. It was important, he said for new players to come through the system who could then exert pressure on players in the team and ensure they would give their best every time they went out on the field.
He said a post mortem of the performance had not been conducted as yet and that would happen before the premier league commenced.
