The GATE Grind

GATE 2026 CE (CE2) – Question 1

General Aptitude · Verbal Aptitude: Grammar and Vocabulary · 1 mark · Multiple choice

'The team ______ more than 300 runs in 20 overs ___________ rains. However, some players needed to improve their batting skills.'

Choose the option with the correct sequence of words to fill the blanks.

  1. score; despite
  2. scoring; instead of
  3. scored; despite
  4. scoring; in spite of

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Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: (C) scored; despite

Explanation

The sentence needs a main verb in the past tense, so the first blank is "scored". The second blank needs a word that links the runs to the rain in the sense "even though it rained", and "despite" does that. The options with "scoring" leave the sentence without a main verb, and "score" is the wrong tense.