BHUBANESWAR 11-Oct-2014 96
Odisha emerged champions in the Bhausaheb Nimbalkar Trophy All-India Cricket Tournament by virtue of taking a massive first inning lead against Maharashtra Cricket Association Secretary`s XI in the three-day final, which ended in a draw at Pune today.
Put into bat, Odisha rode on a half-century each by Girija Rout, Anurag Sarangi, Arvind Singh and Haladhar Das to make a formidable total of 407. Rout and Sarangi were unlucky to miss centuries by six and two runs respectively. S Sureshnath was the most successful opposition bowler, scalping seven wickets for 90 run. In reply, MCA Secretary`s XI were bundled out for 102. After conceding a lead of 305, the home team were 53 for no loss when the match ended in a draw.
Like their batsmen, Odisha pace bowlers put up impressive performance by bagging all 10 wickets in the first innings. Alok Sahoo stood out among the three pacers, scalping four wickets for 14 runs. Preetamjeet Das made a successful comeback with a four-wicket haul, while senior pro Basant Mohanty picked up a brace.
It was a creditable triumph for Odisha, considering the fact that it was the state B team, comprising many fringe players and a new captain in Abhilash Mallick. Though Odisha lifted the trophy without registering an outright win in the four matches they played, their overall performance in all three departments of the game proved to be consistent.
In the batting department, Ranjit Singh and Anurag Sarangi lived up to the selectors` faith, playing a couple of big knocks. Among regular batsmen, Arvind Singh, Girija Rout, Abhilash Mallick and Haladhar Das performed according to expectations. Left-arm spinner Dhiraj Singh and allrounder Lagnajit Samal were other two Odisha players, who performed well in the tournament.
``Winning the tournament is sure to boost the confidence of the team, which was an experimental one, featuring a number of fringe players. It is good sign that the bench strength of the main team has delivered goods when needed,`` said team manager Subhasis Bhuyan.
SCOREBOARD
ODISHA (1st innings): Girija Rout 94, Bikash Pati 9, Ranjit Singh 14, Arvind Singh 71, Anurag Sarangi 98, Abhilash Mallick 6, Haladhar Das 61, Alok Sahoo 10, Basant Mohanty 19 n.o, Preetamjeet Das 12, Dhiraj Singh 2.
Total (all out, 133 overs) 407
Bowling: S Sureshnath 30-7-90-7, G Gaikwad 12-2-47-2.
MCA SECRETARY XI (1st innings): H Khadiwale 6, A Dandekar 1, A Shrikhande 6, Rahul Tripathi 30, Ganesh Gaikwad 23, Vishant More (not out) 19, Akshay Waikar 1, Sajin Sureshnath 3, Bharat Solanki 0, Jitendra Patel 4, Sachin Chaudhari 0
Total (all out, 43.5 overs) 102
Bowling: Basant Mohanty 14-6-24-2, Preetamjeet Das 19-3-53-4, Alok Sahoo 8.5-3-14-4, Dhiraj Singh 2-1-10-0.
MAHARASHTRA (2nd innings): Ameya Shrikande (not out) 30, Avdhoot Dandekar (not out) 17
Total (0 wkt, 17 overs) 53
Bowling: Basant Mohanty 5-1-19-0, Preetamjeet Das 1-0-4-0, Alok Sahoo 3-1-6-0, Dhiraj Singh 1-0-8-0, Arvind Singh 2-0-5-0, Bikash Pati 3-0-4-0
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TOP: Nimbalkar Trophy champions Odisha team in Pune on October 11, 2014.
