Bowlers bat Odisha to victory

Cuttack: They have torn through the opposition with the ball and won the team matches even with little or no support from their batsmen. But on Monday, Odisha’s reliance on their bowlers reached a new high as Deepak Behera (21 n.o.), with Basant Mohanty (10 n.o.) at the other end, guided the team to a memorable two-wicket victory over Saurashtra at Barabati Stadium, warding off relegation.
Unlike most of their designated batsmen, the tail-enders stood firm with their bats against the fiery Saurashtra pacers and reached the 283-run target in a nail-biting finish on the fourth day of their last group-stage encounter. The thrilling tie left the sparse crowd gathered at the venue in awe as it produced the best result for the hosts on home ground in the last few domestic seasons.
The outright victory took Odisha’s points tally to 20 and lifted them to fifth spot while Saurashtra was left on 10 and tottering at the bottom of the group. It was a heartbreaking loss for the visitors who have been in elite company for more than eight seasons but will be fighting it out in Group C next time. All-rounder Chirag Jani was declared the Man of the Match for scoring 102 runs and claiming two victims with the ball in the match.
The stylish left-hander, Anurag Sarangi (82), was the highest run-getter for the hosts followed by Govind Podder (64) and their 155-run partnership laid the foundation for their thrilling win. The duo was delightful most of the morning and replied to the Saurashtra bowlers’ pace and swing with their craft and timing.
But when Sarangi was finally adjudged leg before to Jani, Odisha still needed 90 runs to win and it was not long before Podder followed, losing his off-stump to Jaidev Unadkat (2-66). Matters looked to be going out of the hosts’ grasp as the experienced Siddharth Trivedi (4-45) joined Unadkat in the rout and Odisha were 243 for seven when Behera joined Biplab Samantray in the middle an hour after lunch.
Together, they held on to their wickets and resorted mostly to singles to keep the scoreboard ticking. But their opposition was also beginning to show nerves and helped Odisha’s cause, giving away some needless extras. With still 21 needed, Samantray threw his wicket away going for a big one and made it anyone’s match with two wickets in hand.
Mohanty, however, complimented his bowling partner with patience and also hit a couple of well-struck boundaries to add to the three by Behera. With the last ball of the 102nd over, the winning run came off the bat of Behera in the extended second session of play.
Saurashtra skipper Jaidev Shah said at the post-match presentation, “We tried our best. But they put in 5% more effort than us today (Monday).” And, in the end, it made all the difference.
Scoreboard
Saurashtra (First innings): 218
Odisha (First innings): 88
Saurashtra (Second innings): 152
Odisha (Second innings; Overnight 128/2): G Poddar b Unadkat 64, A Sarangi lbw Jani 83, N Behera b Unadkat 0, B Samantray c Unadkat b Trivedi 19, A Mallick c Vasavada b Trivedi 21, S Sahoo c Jogiyani b Trivedi 6, D Behera not out 21, B Mohanty not out 6. Extras (w-1, b-12, lb-10): 23. Total (for 8 wkts in 102 overs) 282. Fall of wickets: 3/193, 4/199, 5/200, 6/229, 7/243, 8/262. Bowling: Unadkat 26-8-65-2, Tyagi 23.5-5-81-1, Trivedi 23-5-45-4, Jani 21-5-55-1, Jadeja 6-2-7-0, Vasavada 2-0-6-0