Odisha made a horrible start in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 Tournament when they lost to Bengal by nine wickets in their Elite Group-B match at Jadavpur University Ground in Kolkata today. The emphatic win fetched host Bengal four points, while Odisha drew blank.
Put into bat by Bengal captain Anustup Majumdar, Odisha were in dire straits, losing five wickets for 30 runs. Rajesh Dhuper and Ankit Yadav saved them complete collapse, stitching together 65 runs for the sixth wicket. Eventually, Odisha were bowled out for 113, losing the last five wickets for 18 runs.
Dhuper became top-scorer with a run-a-ball 37, while Yadav contributed a 39-ball 32. Ishan Porel did maximum damage to the Odisha innings, bagging four wickets for 26 runs. Bengal clinched the easy win, overhauling the target with 46 balls to spare, losing one wicket in the process.
Vivek Singh and Suvankar Bal remained unbeaten on 54 and 34 respectively. Right-hand opening batsman Aditya Rout and right-arm medium-pace bowler Sunil Kumar Roul made their T20 National debut for Odisha in this match. Odisha will play their second match against Hyderabad also at Jadavpur University Ground on January 12.
SCORECARD
ODISHA: Shantanu Mishra run out (Bal) 6, Aditya Rout c Shahbaz b Porel 11, Subhranshu Senapati lbw Shahbaz 1, Govinda Poddar c Goswami b Mukesh Kumar 8, Biplab Samantaray c Bal b Mukesh Kumar 1, Rajesh Dhuper c Vivek Singh b Akash Deep 37, Ankit Yadav c Kaif Ahmed b Akash Deep 32, Suryakant Pradhan c Shahbaz b Porel 8, Rajesh Mohanty c Vivek Singh b Porel 1, Sunil Roul b Porel 0, Pappu Roy not out 1; Extras (lb-5, w-2) 7
Total (All out; 20 overs) 113
Fall of wickets: 1-8 (Mishra, 1.2 ov), 2-15 (Senapati, 2.1 ov), 3-26 (Rout, 3.4 ov), 4-29 (Poddar, 4.4 ov), 5-30 (Samantaray, 4.6 ov), 6-95 (Dhuper, 16.1 ov), 7-105 (Yadav, 18.2 ov), 8-111 (Pradhan, 19.1 ov), 9-112 (Roul, 19.4 ov), 10-113 (Mohanty, 19.6 ov)
Bengal bowling: Akash Deep 4-0-20-2, Ishan Porel 4-0-26-4, Shahbaz 4-0-20-1, Mukesh Kumar 4-0-20-2, Arnab Nandi 4-0-22-0.
BENGAL: Shreevats Goswami c Yadav b Poddar 25, Vivek Singh not out 54, Suvankar Bal not out 34; Extras (lb-1) 1
Total (1 wicket; 12.2 overs) 114
Fall of wickets: 1-38 (Goswami, 4.3 ov)
Odisha bowling: Suryakant Pradhan 3-0-32-0, Govinda Poddar 2-0-10-1, Rajesh Mohanty 2.2-0-25-0, Pappu Roy 3-0-26-0, Sunil Roul 2-0-20-0.
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PHOTO: Undated file photo of Odisha wicketkeeper Rajesh Dhuper.