Bhubaneswar: Skipper Govind Poddar (225, 364b, 21×4, 2×6) got his maiden first class double hundred Tuesday to ensure at least three points for his side in their Group B Ranji Trophy encounter against Assam at Hyderabad. Prior to this game, he had got four first class centuries.
Govind and Biplab Samantray (103, 215b, 7×4) added 163 runs for the fifth wicket to put Assam completely on the mat at the Rajiv Gandhi National Stadium. They ensured that Orissa finished the day on 459 for the loss of seven wickets – a first innings lead of 158 runs over Assam who had scored 301 in their first essay. And according to the skipper, they will try to go in for an outright win Wednesday.
“Our target is to try and extend the lead to over 200 and then see if we can cause some problems to Assam on the fourth day pitch,” said Govind over the phone. “Both Suryakant (Pradhan) and Basant bhai (Mohanty) bowled well in the first innings. If they can do a repeat act, anything is possible,” he added.
Govind did not spend much time in the nervous 180s or 190s. He reached 193 with successive boundaries off Krishna Das (1/81). The following over he tried to hit Abu Nechim (1/71) for a six, but mistimed his shot and luckily for him the ball fell in no man’s land. Undeterred, the batsman hit a boundary off the next ball to take him to 199 and then duly completed his first double ton with a single to long-on. He finally fell when he failed to keep a slash down off Nechim and wicket-keeper Arun Karthik gleefully accepted the catch.
All this while Biplab, who also got his fifth first class ton played second fiddle. A 215-ball innings by Biplab’s stroke-making capabilities would usually see him batting with a 150-plus score. But he played a supporting role to Govind and had only seven boundaries in his innings which was a chanceless one.
Earlier resuming at their overnight total of 150 for two, Orissa lost Subhranshu Senapati (34, 96b, 3×4, 1×6) to the fourth ball of the day. Abhishek Yadav (29, 61b, 3×4) also flattered to deceive. But then came the match-turning stand which destroyed Assam hopes.
Other Group-B matches
(At Agartala): Saurashtra 277 and 104 (Samar Quadri 4/46, Ashish Kumar 3/34) lost to Jharkhand 467 by an innings and 46 runs.
(At Kolkata): Vidarbha 59 and 270 (Srikant Wagh 69; Anupam Sanklecha 7/69) lost to Maharashtra 332 by an innings and three runs.
(At Vizianagaram): Karnataka 374 and 298 for 6 decl (KL Rahul 106, Mayank Agarwal 63; Rajesh Bishnoi 4/87); Rajasthan 148 and 118 for 6 (R Vinay Kumar 3/45). Match to continue.
PNN
