Published: Nov 21, 2013, 11:49 PM (IST)
Edited: Nov 21, 2013, 11:49 PM (IST)
Jharkhand’s Saurabh Tiwary, Bhavik Thaker and Varun Aaron batted resolutely but other batsmen did not show enough stomach for fight against Odisha © Getty Images (Representational Photo)
Cuttack: Nov 21, 2013
Pacers Basant Mohanty and Alok Chandra Sahoo shared eight wickets between them as Odisha bowled out Jharkhand for 221 on the opening day of their Group A Ranji Trophy match.
Jharkhand’s Saurabh Tiwary (67), Bhavik Thaker (61) and Varun Aaron (44) batted resolutely but other batsmen did not show enough stomach for fight.
Mohanty (5 for 60) and Sahoo (3 for 34) were the pick of the bowlers while Biplab Samantray and Santosh Jena chipped in with a wicket each.
In reply, Odisha were 37 for one at stumps with Bikas Pati (14 batting) and Deepak Behera (0 batting) in the middle.
The hosts lost the wicket of opener Girjia Rout for 21.
Invited to bat first after Odisha won the toss, Jharkhand were left reeling at 74 for four as Mohanty produced a hostile spell of fast bowling to get rid of opener Shasheem Rathour (0) and Bhavin Thakker (0).
Few overs later, he had Rameez Nemat (36) caught by Niranjan Behara. Jena cleaned up Ishank Jaggi (0) to send shockwaves in rival’s camp.
Tiwary held one end together and stitched a 50-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Thaker to somewhat steady the ship. Tiwary’s 96-ball stay at the crease, during which he hit 10 fours, came to an end when he was snapped up by Samantray.
Jharkhand were reduced to 147 for seven soon after as they lost skipper Shahbaz Nadeem (5) and wicketkeeper Pappu Singh (3) in quick succession.
In the process, Thaker completed his half-century with the help of eight fours and took the team past 200-run mark in the able company of Aaron. Sahoo returned for another spell to polish off the tail in style, picking up the wickets of Aaron and Shankar Rao (0).
Brief scores:
Jharkhand 221 (Saurabh Tiwary 67, Bhavin Thaker 61; Basant Mohanty 5 for 60, Alok Sahoo 3 for 34) vs
Odisha 37 for 1 (Girjia Rout 21; Ajay Yadav 1 for 6).
