Orissa ‘A’ beat Andhra to lift trophy

Orissa ‘A’ lived up to expectations as the title favourites as they emerged champions of the 1st All-India Basant Biswal Memorial Cricket Tournament, outplaying Andhra Cricket Association by 149 runs on the last day of the two-day final match at Barabati Stadium, Cuttack today. Chasing 280 in 90 overs, Andhra folded up for 130 in 31.1 overs. Medium pacers Basant Mohanty and Preetamjit Das destroyed the opposition innings, bagging five and three wickets respectively. Champions Orissa ‘A’ received a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, while runners-up Andhra took home Rs 50,000. Prolific run-getter Rashmi Ranjan Das and speedster Basant Mohanty became richer by Rs 15,000 and Rs 10,000 as the man of the tournament and man of the final match respectively. Former Ranji Trophy cricketer Dr Mustaq Alli handed over the trophy and cash prizes at the closing function. Brief scores: Orissa-A: 279/10 in 86.2 overs (Rashmi Ranjan Das 119, Haladhar Das 67: GVS Prasad 4/87, P Vijay Kumar 2/26) beat Andhra CA: 130/10 in 31.1 overs (V Sandeep 41, D Siva Kumar 31, D Kalyan Krishna 26: Basant Mohanty 5/39, Preetamjit Das 3/30).