Bhubaneswar: A three-wicket burst in the 12th over which was also a maiden by left-arm orthodox spinner Pappu Roy (3/21) triggered a Nagaland collapse as Odisha registered their third victory Sunday in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy by 49 runs.
Chasing 150, Nagaland were cruising well at 69/3 in 10 overs but the three quick wickets in the same over broke their spine as the northeastern team as their last seven batsmen recorded single digits to be bowled out for 104 runs in 17 overs.
It all started with Nagaland skipper Hokaito Zhimomi (1) falling plumb in front to Pappu’s tight bowling before the 24-year-old went through the gates of Imliwati Lemtur (0) in the next ball. Pappu accounted his third – Tahmeed Rahman (0) – in the penultimate ball of the over.
Out-of-contention India international Stuart Binny who switched allegiance to Nagaland as a pro from Karnataka this season was the lone fighter with an unbeaten 31, but that did little to their cause. Yogesh Takawale (31) and Shrikant Munde (20) too got starts but failed.
Apart from Pappu, skipper Govind Poddar (3/21), Suryakant Pradhan (2/10) and Abhisek Raut (1/21) also took wickets.
Earlier, after the early fall of opener Sandeep Pattnaik (1), Odisha rode on knocks from Subhranshu Senapati (42) and Raut (36) to get close to the 150-run mark. Poddar (17) and comeback man Rajesh Dhuper (23 n o) too helped in team’s cause.
Brief scores: Odisha 149/9 (Subhranshu Senapati 42, Abhishek Raut 36; Imliwati Lemtur 2/20) beat Nagaland 104 (Stuart Binny 31 n o; Pappu Roy 3/21, Govind Poddar 3/21) by 49 runs.
PNN