BHUBANESWAR 31-Oct-2015
Odisha emerged champions in 15th All-India BSNL Cricket Tournament, defeating host Madhya Pradesh in the final by 20 runs at Bhopal today. Opening batsman Bikash Pati, who scored an unbeaten 94 in the semifinals against Haryana earlier yesterday, also starred in the title triumph, hitting an unbeaten 106 with the help of 13 fours and four sixes. He was adjudged both man of the final match and man of the tournament.
Among successful Odisha bowlers, Sanjay Satpathy bagged four wickets and Niranjan Behera picked up three. Behera was declared the best bowler of the tournament, while his teammate Tukuna Sahu, who held three catches in the final, was named the best fielder.
This was the fifth time that Odisha, which had six former first-class cricketers in their rank, won the title in this tournament. Among them, Bikas Pati, Niranjan Behera, Tukuna Sahu and Priyabrata Pradhan were selected for the All India BSNL team.
Earlier in the semifinals, Odisha edged out Haryana by three runs. Bikash Pati starred in the hard-fought win, hitting an unbeaten 94, which was laced with 10 hits to the rope and four over it. Odisha qualified for the last-four stage, defeating Assam and Himachal Pradesh in league matches.
BRIEF SCORES:
FINAL: Odisha 188/4 20 overs (Bikash Pati 106 n.o, Priyabrata Pradhan 30, BBCC Mohapatra 20) beat Madhya Pradesh 168/9 in 20 overs (Sanjaya Satapathi 4/24, Niranjan Behera 3/35) by 20 runs.
SEMIFINALS: Odisha 162/5 in 20 overs (Bikash Pati 94 n.o) beat Haryana made 159/6 in 20 overs (Surendra Nayak took 2/31) by 3 runs.
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PHOTO: Players of Odisha BSNL team with their trophies in Bhopal on Oct 31, 2015.
