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Bhubaneswar, July 25: Suryakant Pradhan (7/56) conjured up a devastating spell for Orissa as they bowled out Assam for 232 in the second innings and then notched up the required runs to complete a six-wicket victory on the fourth day of the All India K Thimmappiah Memorial cricket tournament at Bangalore, Saturday.
Starting the day at their overnight score of 26 for 2, Amit Barma (94, 195b, 12×4, 1×6) and Gokul Sharma (65, 138b, 8×4, 1×6) hit gutsy half centuries to lead Assam’s fight back. However, Surykant was at the peak of his rhythm as he ran through the oppositions’ innings after Amit and Gokul got out.
Alok Chandra Sahoo (2/54) followed up on his first innings exploit to restrain the Assam batsmen from scoring.
In reply, Orissa overhauled the target in a mere 14.3 overs for the loss of four wickets with Biplab Samantray (28 n o, 32b, 3×4) and Girija Rout (26 n o, 23b, 3×4) leading the run chase. Krishna Das (2/36) and Pritam Das (2/24) bowled well for Assam but couldn’t prevent Orissa from achieving the winning target.
As a result of this win, Orissa bagged six points. They will meet Karnataka in their next encounter at Bangalore, July 27-30.
Brief scores: Assam 133 and 232 (Amit Barma 94, Gokul Sharma 65; Suryakant Pradhan 7/56) lost to Orissa 276 and 90 for four (Biplab Samantray 28 n o, Girija Rout 26 n o) by six wickets.
Stellar show
The men’s and women’s rugby teams of Orissa registered thumping wins against their respective opponents to advance into the quarterfinals of the Senior National Rugby 7s Championships at Patna in Bihar, Saturday.
In a Pool E encounter the men’s team thrashed Uttarakhand 8-0 while in the two matches of Pool X, the eves first spanked Bihar 27-0 and then drubbed Jharkhand 25-0.
