Bhubaneswar: So near yet so far… This would not be wrong to say for Odisha as well as for young batting sensation Subhranshu Senapati (157 n o, 321b, 12×4, 6×6), who brought his side so close to what possible could have been one of the greatest victory for the state in domestic cricket.
However, Odisha fell short by just a couple of runs in their Elite Group C match of the Ranji Trophy against Jharkhand in Ranchi, Sunday.
Chasing a moderate but challenging target of 260 runs, Odisha were bowled out for 257 with Subhranshu remained the last man standing.
Odisha were clearly losing at one stage when they were reeling at 154/8 after the dismissal of Rajesh Mohanty (0). However, Subhranshu didn’t lose his hope and along with experienced Basant Mohanty (4), he took the score past 190-run mark.
But, when it looked like the two would take the Odisha total closer to the target, Rahul Prasad (1/64) struck and dismissed the veteran to reduce the visitors to 193/9.
However, Subhranshu got some business left as he partnered last man Dhiraj Singh (7) and took Odisha past 250-run mark. Like Basant, who faced 38 deliveries, Dhiraj also assured Subhranshu that he can be a dependable ally.
Dhiraj stood tall for 43 deliveries as he added 64 runs for the final wicket before Varun Aaron (2/57) wrapped up the things for the hosts, cleaning Dhiraj up. It was a 50-50 game till the last moment, but Subhranshu’s efforts went in vain and he ended up on the losing side.
Earlier, resuming the play at 81/3, overnight batsmen Subhranshu and skipper Biplab Samantray (23) added 30 more runs before the captain’s dismissal off an Anukul Roy (4/51) delivery reduced Odisha to 111/4. The visitors then kept on losing wickets at regular intervals to be reeling at 154/8.
Brief scores: Jharkhand 172 & 288 bt Odisha 201 & 257 (Subhranshu Senapati 157 n o; Anukul Roy 4/51) by 2 runs.
