Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Feb 6: E-League Organisers XI caused the biggest upset of the ongoing E-League Cricket Tournament when they beat star-studded Orissa Blues by two wickets in an Elite Series match at the IMMT Ground here Saturday.
Young pace bowler Kuna Gochhayat was the main architect of the stunning win of ELO XI, bagging five wickets for 30 runs. He was adjudged man of the match.
Led by former Orissa all-rounder Bibhudutta Panda, Orissa Blues made a competitive total of 148 after they won the toss and elected to bat first. Former Orissa all-rounder P Jayachandra was their top scorer with 52 runs, while captain Panda contributed 34 runs.
In reply, ELO XI rode on a half century by Santanu Mishra and his 88-run opening-wicket stand with Abhinav Ghosh to overhaul the target with two overs to spare. This was the second win in five matches for ELO XI and they completed their elite series engagements with four points. On the other hand, Orissa Blues suffered their first defeat after registering three wins in a row.
Brief score: Orissa Blues 148 (P Jayachandra 52; Kuna Gochhayat 5/30) lost to ELO XI 152/8 (Santanu Mishra 50; Suday Pradhan 3/15) by two wickets.
Double gold
Orissa bagged two gold medals in both the men’s and the women’s categories of the 12th Senior Gateball Championships at Nagpur, Friday. The men’s team thrashed Bihar in the final to take the top honours. The women’s team drubbed Maharashtra in the summit clash to emerge champions.
