Cuttack: Orissa bagged three crucial points as their match against Bengal in the U-16 Vijay Merchant trophy ended in a draw Friday here at BOSE ground. In a thrilling final day, Orissa managed to grab a one-run lead with a fine contribution from Binayak Mohanty (94, 162b, 15×4, 2×6) while Sambit Baral (42, 107b, 6×4) played a gutsy knock down the order to see his team go past the visitors’ total.
When Orissa were reduced to 239 for eight, it looked like the first innings lead had slipped out of their grasp. But No. 10 batsman Suraj K Behera (11 n o) added a vital 25 runs for the ninth wicket to bring relief for the side. Diganta Das (4/50) and Sahitya Hazra (3/43) bowled well for Bengal.
Brief scores: Bengal 264 & 153/6 (Sahitya Hazra 58; Sushil Barik 3/21); Orissa 263 (Binayak Mohanty 94, Sambit Baral 42; Diganta Das 4/50). Match drawn.
Rajesh Nayak and Vaibhav Mishra (both from Puri) emerged joint leaders Friday after conclusion of the second day of the All Orissa Open chess tournament which is being played at Puri. Both are on five points each while Aditya Ranjan Samal (4.5) and Rabindra Kumar Ojha (4.5) from Cuttack and Sundargarh respectively were in joint second position.
Rajesh beat Rajendra Kumar Sahu of Khurda while putting up an impressive show. Rabindra had a mixed day as he lost to Soumyaranjan Mishra before drawing against Manoj Kumar Panigrahi of Puri while Aditya drew with Ramen Karmakar of Cuttack.
Top teams register wins
Aditya Group, JSPL and Utkal Alumina won their respective matches Friday in the Corporate Cricket League being played at Unit-I High School ground in Bhubaneswar. Aditya defeated Milk Mantra and CCC in their two games on the day. In other matches JSPL got the better of Baibhav Finance while Utkal Alumina won against Media XI.
Ticket sales
Ticket sales for the India-Sri Lanka T20 match scheduled to be played at Barabati Stadium here, December 20 has got a massive response from the fans. According to an Orissa Cricket Association (OCA) release Friday, more than 30 thousand tickets have already been sold till now.
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