Kasvankar and Misal steady Goa after early Vidarbha burst in Ranji Trophy opener
Yash Kasvankar and Darshan Misal combined to revive Goa from 84 for six on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group A match against Vidarbha at the VCA Jamtha Stadium in Nagpur on Monday, October 26, 2026. Despite the fightback, Vidarbha held the upper hand at stumps after bowling Goa out to 204 for eight in 86 overs.
Goa were put in after losing the toss and suffered immediate setbacks when openers Suyash Prabhudessai and Shivendra Bhujbal were dismissed inside the first two overs. Nachiket Bhute continued to probe the middle order, testing Manthan Khutkar and Abhinav Tejrana, but Khutkar and Tejrana managed to survive through the first hour.
The breakthrough came in the first over after drinks when Rajneesh Gurbani took an athletic catch to remove Khutkar. Snehal Kauthankar followed in the next over, edging Bhute to R. Samarth at second slip for a duck. Tejrana and Lalit Yadav reached lunch unbeaten but Bhute struck soon after, finding Tejrana’s outside edge and then trapping Lalit lbw as he finished with figures of four for 40.
Goa’s recovery was anchored by the two spin-bowling all-rounders, Yash Kasvankar (51 batting, 177b, 4x4) and Darshan Misal (51, 108b, 5x4, 1x6), who absorbed pressure through to tea. Vidarbha missed chances after the interval, allowing the pair to rotate the strike, pick boundaries and build a century stand; Misal brought up the partnership with a six over long-off and reached his half-century with a single on the next ball.
The final session produced further breakthroughs: Parth Rekhade jagged one past Misal’s outside edge to have him stumped by Wadkar, and Rajneesh Gurbani, returning with the new ball, had Ruthvik Naik lbw. Kasvankar reached his fifty before the close of play as Goa’s lower order prepared to face another day.
The scores: Goa — 1st innings: Suyash Prabhudessai c Harsh b Bhute 1, Shivendra Bhujbal c Malewar b Harsh 0, Manthan Khutkar c & b Gurbani 16, Abhinav Tejrana c Wadkar b Bhute 30, Snehal Kauthankar c Samarth b Bhute 0, Lalit Yadav lbw Bhute 22, Yash Kasvankar (batting) 51, Darshan Misal st Wadkar b Rekhade 51, Ruthvik Naik lbw Gurbani 6, Vasuki Koushik (batting) 4; Extras (b-5, lb-14, wd-2, nb-2) 23; Total (for eight wkts. in 86 overs): 204. Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-3, 3-34, 4-35, 5-75, 6-84, 7-187, 8-197. Vidarbha bowling: Harsh Dubey 18-3-47-1, Nachiket Bhute 18-4-40-4, Yash Thakur 15-3-35-0, Rajneesh Gurbani 17-7-28-2, Parth Rekhade 15-3-31-1, Aman Mokhade 3-1-4-0.
Vidarbha therefore entered the match in a favorable position after day one, having reduced Goa to 204 for eight in 86 overs and claimed the advantage on the opening day.