Bhubaneswar: Odisha batsmen’s woeful run continued as the team was bundled out for a paltry 177 runs against Services in their Elite Group C Ranji Trophy encounter at Palam, New Delhi, Sunday.
Odisha won the toss and chose to bat first. But they failed to justify their decision as they faced a batting debacle. The visitors lost their five top order batsmen with only 55 runs in the scorecard. Then in-form batsman Abhishek Rout (56, 102b, 8×4) and skipper Biplab Samantray (41, 128b, 2×4, 1×6) tried to resurrect the innings with a 82-run partnership. But both of them lost patience and departed in quick succession to put Odisha into deep trouble.
Youngster Debashis Samantray (26, 77b, 3×4) got start but couldn’t convert it into something substantial. Barring these three batsmen none of the other were able to score in double digit.
A Bimal (4/61) was the most impressive among Services bowlers as he accounted for four important Odisha wickets. He was well supported by Diwesh Pathania (2/27) and Sachidanand Pandey (2/25). NK Singh (1/5) also picked up one wicket.
In reply Services were two without loss at the end of the first day’s game. NK Singh (1 batting) and Ravi Chauhan (0 batting) negotiated the only over from Basant Mohanty without any trouble.
Brief scores: Odisha 177 (Abhishek Rout 56, Biplab Samantray 41; A Bimal 4/61, Sachidanand Pandey 2/25, Diwesh Pathania 2/25) vs Services. Match to continue.