After conceding a lead of 185 runs in the 1st innings, the Assam team were already out of the race of winning this Ranji Trophy encounter against Services. However, Day 4 saw a valiant effort from the Assam batsmen, particularly Swarupam Purkayastha and Gokul Sharma who showed great character in their respective innings in their quest to draw the Test match.
However, once Purkayastha was dismissed, the tail did not wag for long. Sevices scored the 75 runs required for victory in just 18.1 overs without losing any wicket and handed Assam a humiliating 10-wicket loss in the Round 6 of the Elite Group C.
This match proved to be no different as the Assam batsmen failed to perform yet another time. The management will have to do some serious introspection post season. The Services team is lowly ranked in Elite Group C and hence Assam had a great chance to revive their fortunes, but they failed and how. Services' captain Rajat Paliwal was rightly adjudged the Man of the Match for his match-winning 180 in the 1st innings.
For Assam, players like Gokul Sharma and Swarupam Purkayashtha showed glimpses of brilliance but as a team, they failed miserably and will need some serious changes in their game to surge ahead in the rest of the season.
