Bhubaneswar: Odisha won their fourth Ranji Trophy game on the trot defeating Haryana by one wicket in a thrilling encounter which ended Tuesday at the Chaudhary Bansi Lal cricket stadium in Rohtak.
Starting the day Odisha needed 32 runs to win with three wickets in hand. They couldn’t have hoped for a worst start as overnight batsman Rajesh Dhupar (32) could only add three runs to his overnight total before being dismissed by Ashish Hooda (1/25). Odisha still needed 14 runs for the win then with only the bowlers to come.
However, Rajesh Mohanty (21) saw them through with valuable support from Basant Mohanty (six not out) and Pappu Roy (four not out).
Suryakant Pradhan who took five wickets in the Haryana second innings was named man of the match. In the first innings also he had wreaked havoc claiming six wickets to restrict the hosts to 90 all out. The Odisha pacer finished the game with 11 wickets for 122 runs, truly amazing figures. Not to forget his small innings of 12 runs also contributed to Odisha’s victory after the middle-order collapse.
Brief scores: Haryana 90 and 248; Odisha 160 and 182 for 9 (Rajesh Dhupar 32, Rajesh Mohanty 21, Ajit Chahal 7/80). Odisha won by one wicket.
PNN & Agencies