BHUBANESWAR 11-Dec-2010 154
Orissa gained three valuable points by virtue of taking a 27-run first innings in lead on the fourth and last day of their rain-marred Ranji Trophy Super League match, which ended in a predictable draw at Barabati Stadium here today.
Chasing a modest target of 164 for the first innings lead, the home side suffered a few hiccups before accomplishing goal, thanks to opener Paresh Patel’s half-century, second of his first class career and useful knocks of 35 each by Niranjan Behera and Biplab Samantaray.
Himachal Pradesh settled with one point but not before giving Orissa a good run for their money. Medium pacers Rishi Dhawan scalped the first three wickets and Vikramjeet Malik picked up the next two as Orissa slumped from a comfortable 123 for one to 155 for five. Dhawan went on to bag the second five-wicket haul of the first class career, while Malik scalped a brace to complete his 200 first class wickets.
But the duo’s fine performance lost some of its credibility as they conceded as many as 24 extra runs, including 23 in shape of no balls. Overall, Orissa garnered 34 extra runs, out of which Malik alone contributed 17 through no balls.
After taking the all-important lead, Orissa chose to declare their innings at 190 for eight and force the opposition bat again. Himachal Pradesh made 25 for one before both the captains agreed for the draw.
The three points came as a big relief for Orissa, who progressed from bottom to sixth position in the seven-team group `B’ table with eight points in their kitty. On the other hand, Himachal Pradesh faced the threat relegation as they slipped to the bottom with six points from five matches.
Orissa would meet fourth-placed Haryana at Lahli, Haryana, while Himachal would take on second-placed Baroda at Vadodara in their respective sixth and last Super League matchs from December 15 to 18.
SCOREBOARD
HIMACHAL PRADESH (1st innings): H Dogra b A Sahoo 15, A Sharma c Patel b D Mohanty 9, V Indulkar c S Sahoo b A Sahoo 16, P Dogra (not out) 53, V Sharma (run out) 1, M Bisla lbw B Mohanty 8, A Mannu lbw B Mohanty 1, R Dhawan c S Sahoo b B Mohanty 43, K Dewan (run out) 2, V Malik lbw B Mohanty 0, M Sharma c S Sahoo b D Mohanty 0; Extras (b-4, lb-3, nb-5, w-3) 15.
Total (All out, 64.4 overs) 163
Fall of wickets: 1-15, 2-34, 3-45, 4-55, 5-76, 6-78, 7-150, 8-156, 9-158, 10-163.
Bowling: Debasis Mohanty 18.4-4-48-2, Basant Mohanty 20-4-43-4, Alok Sahoo 11-3-32-2, Santosh Jena 11-2-28-0, Biplab Samantaray 4-1-5-0.
ORISSA (1st innings): Paresh Patel c Bisla b Dhawan 55, Natraj Behera c Bisla b Dhawan 13, Niranjan Behera lbw Dhawan 35, Govinda Poddar b Bisla b Malik 4, Subit Biswal lbw Malik 0, Biplab Samantaray (run out) 35, Subhrajit Sahool c Biswal b Dhawan 6, Alok Sahoo lbw Dhawan 3, Santosh Jena (not out) 5, Extras (lb-5, nb-28, w-1) 34.
Total (8 wkts decl, 71.1 overs) 190
Fall of wickets: 1-36, 2-123, 3-123, 4-134, 5-152, 6-162, 7-176, 8-190.
Bowling: VS Malik 19-4-60-2, Mohinderraj Sharma 18-3-36-0, R Dhawan 23.1-6-63-5, K Diwan 11-3-26-0.
HIMACHAL PRADESH (2nd innings): H Dogra c S Sahoo b A Sahoo 18, A Sharma (not out) 5, V Indulkar (not out) 0; Extras (b-1, lb-1) 2.
Total (1 wkt, 9 overs) 25
Fall of wicket: 1-24
Bowling: Debasis Mohanty 3-1-7-0, Basant Mohanty 3-0-8-0, Alok Sahoo 2-0-8-1, Paresh Patel 1-1-0-0.
