Post News Network
Cuttack, Oct 8: Harshad Khadiwale (74, 164b, 10×4) and Ankit Bawne (60, 146b, 7×4) struck dogged half centuries as Maharashtra reached 231 for five on the opening day of their Group B Ranji Trophy cricket match against hosts Odisha here Thursday.
Skipper and all-rounder Biplab Samantray (3/31) was the most successful bowler for Orissa at the Barabati Stadium. He was well supported by pacer Suryakant Pradhan (2/65) on a day where the umpires called off play four overs before the scheduled closure due to inclement weather. At stumps, Rahul Tripathi (41 batting, 101b, 5×4) was at the crease. Giving him company was Chirag Khurana (18 batting). The two have already put on an unbeaten stand of 44 runs for the sixth wicket. Sent into bat, Maharashtra lost Swapnil Gugale (2) with only three runs on the board in the fourth over to Suryakant. Skipper Rohit Motwani was out for 22 off 45 balls, having hit five boundaries. The experienced Kedar Jadhav (2), who has an ODI hundred to his name, was the next to go as the visitors slumped to 62 for three.
A 91-run for the fourth wicket between Khadiwale and Bawne revived Maharashtra, but both of them fell after doing all the hard work.
Brief scores: Maharashtra 231 for 5 (Harshad Khadiwale 74, Ankit Bawne 60, Biplab Samantray 3/12) versus Orissa. Match to continue.
Other Group A matches
(At Guwahati): Rajasthan 174/5 (Vineet Saxena 42; J Syed Mohammad 2/43) vs Assam. Match to continue.
(At Delhi): Vidarbha 222/6 (Faiz Fazal 56, S Badrinath 44; Ishant Sharma 3/26) vs Delhi. Match to continue.
(At Bangalore): Bengal 312/9 (Sudip Chatterjee 145, Wriddhiman Saha 90; R Vinay Kumar 3/80, H Sharath 3/47) vs Karnataka. Match to continue.
