Fabulous bowling displays from Arjun Tendulkar, Vasuki Koushik and Darshan Misal powered Goa to a one-sided 52-run victory over Chandigarh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT). The bowling attack helped Goa in defending the target of 174 rather comfortably and they bundled out Chandigarh for just 121. The Eden Gardens pitch provided a lot of help for the Goa bowlers as they helped the team in recording their first win of the tournament after losing their opening match to Uttar Pradesh.
After being invited to bat first, Goa didn't have a great as they lost both of their openers within the first four overs. Arjun had opened the batting for the side, but ffailed to make much of an impact and got dismissed for 14 runs. Then ended up losing two more wickets by the end of the powerplay. However, all-rounder Lalit Yadav went on to become their saviour.
Lalit carries Goa to respectable total
The 28-year-old, who had featured for the Delhi Capitals in IPL 2025, went on to play a fine innings of 82 runs, consisting of six boundaries and four sixes. This knock proved to be a game-changer for Goa as after having a horrid start, they went on to post a fighting total of 173/6 on the board in 20 overs.
Chandigarh kept on losing wickets regularly
In reply, Chandigarh also had an abysmal start as they lost experienced batter Manan Vohra on the first delivery of the innings to Vasuki Koushik. Arjun got his first scalp in the very next over and got rid of skipper Shivam Bhambri for just a single. The pace duo of Koushik and Arjun got four wickets between them in as many overs before left-arm spinner Darshan Misal joined the party and ended his four-over spell with figures of 3/23.
Arjun and Koushik also finished with three scalps each as the Chandigarh batters completely crumbled and got bowled out in 19 overs. None of the batters managed to even cross the 30-run mark as Goa recorded a coprehensive 52-run victory in Kolkata. They will be hoping to maintain this form in their next fixture of the SMAT that will be against Hyderabad on November 30.