The Hindu : Sport : Yere Goud holding the fort

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Sunday, Apr 03, 2005

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Yere Goud holding the fort

By Vijay Lokapally

IN FULL FLOW: Railways' Yere Goud sends one to the boundary during the Ranji Trophy final against Punjab on Saturday. — Photo: R.V. Moorthy

MOHALI, APRIL 2. An innings of character by Yere Goud put Railways on the winning track on the penultimate day of the Ranji Trophy final at the PCA Stadium here on Saturday.

The veteran Railways batsman produced a gritty knock as Railways, resuming at 123 for two, finished at 362 for eight with Goud holding the fort. His gallant 96 literally shut Punjab out of the match as Railways stretched its overall lead to 408 runs.

Nothing worked right for Punjab this day. After Jai Prakash Yadav showed the way in an innings of 97 and Sanjay Bangar backed his team with a dogged 77, it was Goud's turn to keep up the good work and the unassuming cricketer played what he described as one of his best efforts.

An engineer, Goud's work is to ensure the wheels roll fluently and he extended his vocation to the cricket field by sketching a flawless innings in hard circumstances. It was not easy to thwart the Punjab bowlers who seemed to have swung the balance by accounting for Yadav, Bangar and Raja Ali in succession. But Goud was determined to make an impact with his first half-century of the season.

Smooth run

Railways was chugging along through some purposeful batting by Yadav, who dominated the stage with an aggressive innings that put Punjab on the backfoot. He continued to play his shots and crafted a 107-ball essay that contained ten 4s and four 6s, two of them this morning, before a half-hearted cut ended his stay at the crease. "His was a crucial contribution given the conditions," said Railways coach Vinod Sharma.

Yadav and Bangar's association was worth 148 runs, a partnership that laid the base for the team's remarkable rise on the fourth day.

Bangar, who made a substantial contribution in the second innings too, played a few rousing strokes to signal Railways' intentions to maintain its positive approach. He was, however, consumed by a harmless ball that he played on to the stumps. His vigil lasted 188 balls and eleven 4s decorated his important innings.

Raja Ali departed to a poor shot and T.P. Singh failed to break his wretched run with the bat. It was in such a demanding situation that Goud arrived at the crease and true to his nature, did not let his team down.

"I had immense faith in Yere. He has the quality to carry the innings on his shoulders and I'm so happy for him. He made a very significant contribution," said Vinod Sharma. The unsung Goud put things in perspective when he said, "I knew what my job was and I just concentrated on staying in the middle. We were a little anxious when TP (Singh) got out but Sudhir (Wankhede) batted well. It was all a matter of handling the pressure because there was nothing in the pitch for the bowlers."

This was not the Mohali pitch the home team had expected. The lack of bounce and turn frustrated the Punjab bowlers but it still remained a tough task to grind the attack. Goud was not disheartened by the loss of the top order and went about his business in the company of Wankhede, who batted 70 balls in the most crucial phase of the day's play. "We were done in by this partnership," conceded Punjab skipper Pankaj Dharmani, who was handicapped by the inability of leg-spinner Sandeep Sanwal to bowl due to a finger injury.

Admirable

"I think their bowlers were too tired and we did well to grab the chance," said Bangar. There was merit in what he said but Goud deserved credit for handling the situation admirably. "He has been the backbone of our batting. He had not been playing to his potential this season but we always knew he would click at a key stage. He has put us in a very strong position," said Bangar.

Goud motivated Wankhede and Kulamani Parida to support him in the middle and used his bat judiciously to score. His 188-ball knock, with 12 fours and one 6, broke Punjab's back after the home team had promised to make a match of it in the first session. "We have a difficult task but we'll make a try," said Dharmani.

The scores:

Railways — 1st innings: 355.

Punjab — 1st innings: 309.

Railways — 2nd innings: A. Pagnis lbw b Gagandeep 0, S. Bangar b Rajesh 77, S. Khanolkar (run out) 3, J.P. Yadav c Dharmani b V.R.V. Singh 97, R. Ali c Dharmani b Gagandeep 14, Y. Goud (batting) 96, T.P. Singh lbw b Rajesh 12, S. Wankhede c Dharmani b Sodhi 24, K. Parida lbw b Kakkar 6, Harvinder (batting) 2, Extras (b-22, lb-4, nb-5) 31, Total (for eight wkts. in 119 overs) 362.

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-31, 3-179, 4-205, 6-236, 7-302, 8-333.

Punjab bowling: Gagandeep 24.4-10-42-2, V. Sharma 19-2-65-0, R. Sharma 30-5-106-2, V.R.V. Singh 18.2-4-40-1, Kakkar 13-4-46-1, Sanwal 1-0-1-0, Sodhi 13-3-36-1.

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