News Byte

GCA News Bytes Skipper Irfan Pathan led from the front with an unbeaten 49 and two wickets to help Baroda maintain an unbeaten run in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy so far after thrashing a hapless Goa by 72 runs in the Group C Twenty20 cricket match on Wednesday. Put into bat at the Moti Bagh Stadium, Baroda, who registered their third consecutive win, posted a respectable 154 for two in 20 overs and then packed Goa for a paltry 82 runs in 15.4 overs to bag four points. The Baroda top-order made it count with Irfan's 29-ball blitz, which was laced with three fours and three sixes, standing out as opener Kedar Devdhar (39) and Hardik Pandya (38 not out) also made useful contributions. The third-wicket unbeaten 83-run partnership between Irfan and Pandya is what made the Goa bowling eat humble pie. Left-arm spinner Darshan Misal bagged the only two wickets to fall in the innings. Chasing the challenging score, Deepraj Gaonkar (48) stood amidst the Goa ruins as the rest of the batting fell like a pack of cards. Reagan Pinto (11) was the only other batsman to manage double figures. Pace spearhead Irfan, left-armer Rishi Arothe and medium-pacer Pandya bagged two wickets apiece. BRIEF SCORES: Baroda 154/2 in 20 overs (Irfan Pathan 49 not out, Hardik Pandya 38 not out; Darshan Misal 2-25) beat Goa 82 all out in 15.4 overs (Deepraj Gaonkar 48; Irfan Pathan 2-19, Rishi Arothe 2-7, Hardik Pandya 2-14) by 72 runs Points: Baroda 4, Goa 0.