A maiden unbeaten knock of 119 by opener Swapnil Asnodkar helped Goa reach 208 for six on the first day of the four-day plate division Ranji trophy match against Orissa at Barabati stadium at Cuttack on Sunday.
Goa were strongly placed at one time with the scoreboard reading 119 for one, but medium pacers Debashis Mohanty and Bipin Singh struck twice each to swing the game in favour of the hosts.
After Orissa skipper Sanjay Raul won the toss and asked Goa to bat, the hosts tasted success immediately as opener Sagun Kamat was run out by Pravanjan Mallick without score.
But Raul's expectation of extracting some advantage from the wicket from the early morning dew went in vain as Asnodkar and Fazal Shaikh flourished adding 117 runs for the second wicket in 188 minutes.
Left arm spinner Srikanta Jena, who made his debut in Ranji Trophy today along with all rounder D.C.Rajesh of Goa, struck after the lunch when he had Shaikh trapped LBW for 30 (3x4).
Goa, then, lost four wickets adding only 53 runs as the medium pacers struck while Asnodkar stood firm at one end.
His unbeaten knock, spanning 272 balls, contained 20 hits to the ropes.
While Singh had Rohit Rane (one) caught behind by Sukhwinder Singh and trapped Mandar Phadke (five) LBW, Mohanty castled Rajesh Naik (six) and had Shadeb Jakati (two) caught by Rashmi Parida.
Brief scores: Goa (1st innings) 208 for six (S.Asnodkar batting 119, F.Shaikh 30, D.Mohanty 2/30, B.Singh 2/72).
