Cuttack: A perfect all-round performance led Odisha to their third successive victory at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 cricket tournament as Pappu Roy (4/21), Biplab Samantray (49, 26b, 5×4, 3×6) and Anurag Sarangi (43 n o, 36b, 5×4) helped the hosts thrash Assam by seven wickets in their fifth Group D match at the DRIEMS Ground here, Wednesday.
Odisha have only two matches left in their bag and they need to win both the matches if they want to have any chance to make it into the next round. However, it will be a hard nut to crack as they will next play Karnataka, who are undefeated in the group stage, and Bengal.
Come to match, chasing a descent target of 143, Odisha hardly found any difficulty as the openers Sandeep Patnaik (21) and Rajesh Dhuper (27) gave a magnificent start – 46 runs inside five overs – before both getting out in quick succession to leave Odisha at 57/2 in 7.5 overs.
However, Anurag and seasoned Biplab made sure the chase would be a smooth one as the duo added 80 runs for the third wicket before the latter got out in the final delivery of the 16th over.
However, Anurag, along with Aravinda Singh, ensured Odisha of no more hiccups taking them to a comprehensive victory. Abu Nechim (2/29) was the most successful among the Assam bowlers.
Earlier, put into bat, Assam could muster only 142/9 in their 20 overs. Sibsankar Roy (47, 32b, 7×4, 1×6) and Jitumoni Kalita (31, 20b, 1×4, 2×6) batted well but losing wickets at regular intervals cost Assam dearly. For Odisha, Pappu was exceptional with ball and he was ably assisted by other bowlers.
Brief scores: Assam 142/9 (Sibsankar Roy 47, Jitumoni Kalita 31; Pappu Roy 4/21) lost to Odisha 143/3 (Biplab Samantray 49, Anurag Sarangi 43 n o; Abu Nechim 2/29) by 7 wickets.