Cuttack: Chhattisgrah hammerd Odisha by 10 wickets in a Group match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 cricket tournament at the Barabati Stadium here Thursday.
The hosts, after being put in by Chhattisgarh could never get going and were bowled out for 137 in 19.4 overs. Except for skipper Subhranshu Senapati (51, 37b, 6×4, 1×6) none of the other recognised batsmen could get going. Only tail-ender Rajesh Mohanty’s (36, 24b, 3×4, 2×6) took Odisha past the 100-run mark. At eight down for 75, things look distinctly gloomy for the hosts before Rajesh’s heroics with the bat lifted them somewhat.
Pacers Aishwarya Mourya (3/20), Shakeeb Ahmed (2/22) and Pankaj Rao (2/23) did the maximum damage to the Odisha innings. But more than their bowling, the Odisha batsmen brought about their downfall with poor shot selection.
Chasing a less then par total was never going to be a problem for the Chhattisgarh batters and they reached the winning target without much fuss with 23 balls to spare. Openers Rishabh Tiwari (71 n o, 55b, 7×4, 2×6) and Shashank Chandrakar (55 n o, 43b, 6×4, 2×6) duly completed the formalities putting the Odisha bowlers to the sword. Both showed that there was nothing in the wicket and treated the hosts’ bowlers with disdain.
Brief scores: Odisha 137 in 19.4 overs (Subhranshu Senapati, 51, Rajesh Mohanty 36, Aishwarya Mourya 3/20, Shakeeb Ahmed 2/22) lost to Chhattisgarh 138 for no loss in 16.1 overs (Rishabh Tiwari 71 n o, Shashank Chandrakar 55 n o) by 10 wickets.
PNN