Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Nov 15: For some captaincy is a curse while for some it is a blessing. Biplab Samantray, who was made the skipper of the Orissa Ranji Trophy team earlier in the season failed to fire in a single game with the bat. But the moment, Natraj Behera was reinstated as the skipper of the side, the opener responded with a fine century against Harayana in the Group A tie Sunday at Rohtak.
Riding on Natraj’s (143 batting, 244b, 12×4, 4×6) eighth Ranji Trophy ton and a maiden unbeaten century by Ranjit Singh (109 batting, 266b, 8×4, 3×6), Orissa ended the day at stumps on 280 for one – their best batting show of the season so far. The two have so far put on an unbroken 263-run partnership for the second wicket to put the side in a position of command.
Orissa did not start well as India ODI bowler, Mohit Sharma (1/33) sent back Girija Rout (10, 18b, 1×4) early, the batsman bowled by an incoming delivery. But after that, both Natraj and Ranjit batted with a lot of determination to take their side to safety. Their job though is not done yet, as the pitch on offer at the Bansi Lal Stadium is batting-friendly.
Brief scores: Orissa 280 for one (Natraj Behera 143 batting, Ranjit Singh 109 batting) vs Haryana. Match to continue.
Other Group A matches
(At Pune): Bengal 239/3 (AR Easwaran 65; SS Mondal 58, Sudeep Chatterjee 51 batting, SM Fallah 1/39). Match to continue.
(At Guwahati): Delhi 149 all out (Manan Sharma 46; K Das 4/32, AK Das 3/49); Assam 69/3 (G Sharma 22 n o; Pradeep Sangwan 2/1). Match to continue.
(At Nagpur): Rajasthan 216 all out (SS Dobal 51 n o, Umesh Yadav 4/45 including a hat-trick, AA Wakhare 3/78) vs Vidarbha. Match to continue.
Eves lose tamely
Railways routed Orissa by nine wickets in a league match of the Senior Women’s one-day cricket tournament at Rajkot, Sunday. The Orissa eves were no match for their Railways counterparts who bowled, fielded and batted superbly.
Railways won the toss and decided to put the opposition in and then dismissed Orissa for 87 in 41.1 overs with spinner Ekta Bisht (4/5) bowling a destructive spell. She was well-supported by pacer Kavita (3/21). Except for skipper Madhusmita Behera (31) none of the other Orissa batswomen were able to offer any resistance.
Chasing a victory target of 88, Railways scored 91 for one in just 15.2 overs. MD Thirushkamini emerged top-scorer with 41.
K’taka in command
Hosts Karnataka were placed comfortably at stumps on the second day of their four-day under-19 Cooch Behar Trophy match against Orissa at Hubli, Sunday. Orissa resuming at 204 for six were bowled out for 235, the last four wickets falling for the addition of only 29 runs. Biswajit Bhuyan who was unbeaten on 60 failed to add to his overnight score.
In reply, Karnataka got off to a fine start with openers Dev Padikkal (89) and Nikin Jose (55) putting on 114 runs. At stumps they were 219 for three, just 16 runs adrift of the Orissa total.
