Missing out on a possible chance to score an outright win remained Goa coach Vivek Kolambkar's major grouse a day after his captain came under the scanner for taking a decision that has left almost everyone in Goa cricket flabbergasted. Having decided on his own to accept a draw against Maharashtra when the team management had given clear instructions to go all out for full points in their Ranji Trophy Plate division season opener,stand-in skipper Swapnil Asnodkar has been sacked and suspended for a couple of matches by the Goa Cricket Association. Having conceded the first-innings lead and bonus points to Maharashtra,Goa required 130 runs in 19 overs for an outright win at Porvorim on Sunday. But,according to Kolambkar,skipper Asnodkar who faced 21 balls for his unbeaten 5 defied the team's pre-decided tactics of going for the target come what may and unilateraly agreed to call the match off with Goa's score reading 18/1 in six overs,requiring 112 in the remaining 13 mandatory overs. During our team meeting,we had planned to go for a win. Beating Maharashtra would have changed the whole equation in the group. You don't get opportunities to score such outright wins in the Ranji Trophy everyday. I even told Swapnil that if we lose then I'm ready to take the blame, explained Kolambkar. A comfortable run-chase it might not have been,especially after Maharashtra had crumbled for just 91 in their second innings,but the presence of big-hitters like Asnodkar,Abhishek Raut and Amit Yadav would have made a huge difference,felt Kolambkar. He further revealed that Asnodkar who will hand over the reins to Keen Vaz had defended his decision by claiming that the pitch was not ideal to bat on. He told me it wasn't ideal to chase the total. But in six overs our team faced,we didn't see a single ball keeping low or getting uneven bounce. I don't know what was in his mind. We asked our first innings centurion Vaibhav Naik to bat down the order in case we lose wickets in quick succession. Swapnil was defending the ball at a time he was asked to hit. We had never discussed accepting the draw, he added. Goa play their next two games away from home and the absence of a senior player like Asnodkar will be felt. We will certainly miss him. He is our most experienced batsman and star performer. I still can't fathom what made him take that decision, the coach said.
