Sambalpur, Rourkela and Mayurbhanj won the last three preliminary league matches of the Kalahandi Cup Inter-District Cricket Tournament (Senior & U-19 Men), defeating Jagatsinghpur, Koraput and Rayagada respectively at different grounds in Cuttack today.
Captain Sayed Zaki and Shresth Singh played important roles in the Sambalpur win, scoring 95 runs and bagging five wickets respectively. A three-wicket haul by Pritam Jena helped Rourkela beat Koraput by eight wickets. Preet Pal Singh was the star of the Mayurbhanj win, bagging six wickets for 28 runs.
After completion of 96 preliminary league matches, involving 37 teams, East Coast Railway, Sundargarh, Khordha, Jharsuguda, Cuttack-A and Rourkela qualified for the Super Leauge as respective group toppers. However, former champions Bhubaneswar-A failed to make it to the super league.
RESULTS (16 August, 2021):
Match 94 (At Sunshine Ground, Cuttack): Sambalpur 220/10 in 41.2 overs (Sayed Zaki 95, Roshan Mohapatra 44; Rabinandan Sahoo 5/21, Tarakanta Jena 2/57) beat Jagatsinghpur 69/10 in 22.2 overs (Shresth Singh 5/23, Prashant Thakkar 3/19) by 151 runs. PoM: Sayed Zaki.
Match 95 (At SCB Medical College Ground, Cuttack): Koraput 84/10 in 39.1 overs (Prabhanjan Adhikari 20; Pritam Jena 3/19, Kishor Chhatri 3/25, Ayaskant Sahu 2/12) lost to Rourkela 87/2 in 17.5 overs (Swastik Samal 31*, Subhankar Biswas 20*; Niranjan Gouda 1/10) by 8 wickets. PoM: Pritam Jena.
Match 96 (At Bidanasi Ground, Cuttack): Mayurbhanj 186/10 in 37.3 overs (Abinash Khandelwala 49, Aditya Basa 38, Sanjay Behera 25*, Bastav Mohanta 21; Ranjan Kumar 2/17, Bikash Sika 2/20, Manas Satapathy 2/24, Uma Sahu 2/35) beat Rayagada 161/10 in 38 overs (Chandan Gouda 52, Bikash Sika 31, Nrusingha Padhy 21; Preet Pal Singh 6/28, Srimanta Sahu 2/25) by 25 runs. PoM: Preet Pal Singh.
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PHOTO: Leading performers of last three preliminary league matches (L to R) Preet Pal Singh (Mayurbhanj), Jena (Rourkela) and Sayed Zaki (Sambalpur) in Cuttack on 16 August, 2021.