Bhubaneswar: Odisha pulled off an upset of sorts, stunning the fancied Maharashtra team by three wickets in their Vijay Hazare Trophy match played Monday at Vadodara. Chasing a victory target of 260 runs in 50 overs, Odisha romped home with five balls to spare.
Odisha skipper Subhranshu Senapati (119 n o, 130b, 8×4, 2×6) came to the party when it mattered the most, hitting a timely hundred. Useful lower-order contributions from Abhishek Raut (24), Sujit Lenka (26) and Deepak Behera also helped Odisha’s cause.
Subhranshu was involved in three crucial partnerships. First he put on 54 runs for the fifth wicket with Abhishek Raut to steady the Odisha innings. Then he put on 67 runs for the sixth wicket Sujit Lenka to take Odisha to the doorsteps of a convincing win. Finally Senapati added another 27 runs with Deepak Behera to seal a great triumph for Odisha in the Elite Group B encounter.
Earlier Maharashtra were restricted due to some tight bowling and superb fielding by Odisha to 259 for eight in their 50 overs. India player Kedar Jadhav (62, 59b, 6×4, 1×6) played well for Maharashtra. The other notable contribution came from Rahul Tripathi (69, 91b, 8×4, 1×6).
For Odisha, pacer bowler Suryakant Pradhan (3/50) bowled well. He was well-supported by Abhishek Raut (2/41) and Govind Poddar (2/55). Odisha now have 12 points from five games with two of their matches being washed out.
Brief scores: Maharashtra 259 for 8 (Rahul Tripathi 69, Kedar Jadhav 62, Suryakant Pradhan 3/50, Abhishek Raut 2/41, Govind Poddar 2/55) lost to Odisha 260 for 7 in 49.1 overs (Subhranshu Senapati 119 n o) by three wickets.
PNN