10-Dec-2009 216
Make-shift opener Subhrajit Sahoo’s maiden first class half-century and an unbeaten 39 by stumper Haladhar Das put Orissa on the path of victory at the close of third day of their four-day Ranji Trophy Super League (Group-A) match at Sector-16 Stadium in Chandigarh today.
After taking a 106-run lead in the first innings, Orissa reached 196 for eight in the second to gain an overall lead of 302. Asked to open the innings in place of captain Shiv Sundar Das, Sahoo rose to the occasion with a 109-ball 62, which was studded with nine hits to the rope. He stood firm at one end, while wickets fell at the other in regular interval.
Fine bowling by Punjab speedster Love Ablish and M S Gony reduced Orissa to 122 for seven before Haladhar Das and Debasis Mohanty rescued the team, stitching together 51 valuable runs for the eighth wicket. Ablish scalped five or more wickets for the second time in the match, while Orissa’s Niranjan Behera completed 2,000 runs in first class cricket.
Earlier in the day, host Punjab were bowled out for 177 after resuming their first innings at the overnight score of 144 for eight. Medium pacer Basant Mohanty claimed the last two wickets to return with an impressive haul of six for 65. Mayank Sidhana hit an unbeaten 53 to give Punjab’s total some respectibility.
With a 300-plus overall lead and two wickets still in hand, Orissa have tightened the noose around Punjab’s neck. It will be a herculean task for the home team to bat out the last day and deny Orissa their first win, this season.
SCOREBOARD
ORISSA (1st innings): 283
PUNJAB (1st innings): R Inder Singh lbw Sahoo 46, V Bhalla b B Mohanty 0, U Kaul b B Mohanty 8, T Kohli c H Das b B Mohanty 20, P Dharmani b B Mohanty 5, S Sohal b D Mohanty 0, M Sidhana (not out) 53, R Sharma c H Das b D Mohanty 1, MS Gony c Behera b D Mohanty 24, Gagandeep Singh c H Das b B Mohanty 3, L Ablish c Pati b B Mohanty 5: Extras (lb-6, nb-6) 12
Total (all out, 62 overs) 177
Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-14, 3-58, 4-74, 5-77, 6-85, 7-86, 8-114, 9-154, 10-177
Bowling: Debasis Mohanty 22-9-54-3, Basant Mohanty 24-5-65-6, Alok Sahoo 14-2-51-1, Dhiraj Singh 2-1-1-0.
ORISSA (2nd innings): Bikash Pati lbw Ablish 3, Subhrajit Sahoo b Gony 62, Niranjan Behera c Kaul b G Singh 7, Rakesh Mohanty b Ablish 10, Shiv Sundar Das b Gony 14, Pravanjan Mullick lbw Ablish 14, Haladhar Das (batting) 39, Alok Sahoo lbw Ablish 0, Debasis Mohanty c Kaul b Ablish 16, Basant Mohanty (batting) 11: Extras (b-7, lb-8, nb-4, w-1) 20
Total (8 wickets, 72 overs) 196
Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-45, 3-61, 4-95, 5-114, 6-122, 7-122, 8-173
Bowling: Love Ablish 20-7-54-5, Gagandeep Singh 13-5-23-1, M S Gony 21-3-63-2, T Kohli 13-3-32-0, R Sharma 5-3-9-0.
