CUTTACK: Hosts Odisha bounced back into the title race of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament, scripting a five-wicket win over Punjab in their Group B super league match at DRIEMS Stadium in Tangi (Cuttack) on Friday. This was the second win in three matches for East Zone champions Odisha, who joined Rajasthan and Punjab at the top of the group.
Among the notable Odisha performers, left-arm spinner Shesdeep Patra and Suryakant Pradhan stood out with a three-wicket haul and an eight-ball unbeaten 22, respectively. The duo must have caught the attention of national selectors, who are here to spot fresh talents.
It was Patra’s clever bowling that helped the home team restrict the opposition to less than 150. Coming into the team as a replacement, he has collected nine wickets in three matches so far.
Though Pradhan is a new-ball bowler, it is his explosive batting that has turned him into a trump card. With Odisha needing 30 runs in the last four overs, Pradhan struck three huge sixes to cap the win with 11 balls to go.
A firebrand cricketer, 21-year-old Pradhan had earlier hit an eight-ball unbeaten 28 against Rajasthan and a seven-ball 20 against Mumbai. A specialist in hitting sixes, he boasts a strike rate of 212.30.
Earlier, Odisha overcame a vulnerable start, thanks to a 76-run partnership for the third wicket between top scorer Anurag Sarangi and Abhilash Mallick.
Rajasthan Win Easy
Rajasthan registered their second straight win in Group A, trouncing Hyderabad by 86 runs at DRIEMS Stadium. Chasing a daunting target of 184, Hyderabad tottered at 26 for five and eventually caved in for 97.
Pacer Aniket Choudhary destroyed the Hyderabad top-order, scalping three wickets for 10 runs. Complimenting Choudhary, Ashok Menaria and Chandrapal Singh picked up a brace each. Captain Hanuma Vihari waged a lone battle for Hyderabad, hitting a valiant 28-ball 46.
Put into bat, Rajasthan were propelled by an 82-run between openers Suryaprakash Suwalka and Ankit Lamba Suwalka cracked a 32-ball 50, while scored 44 off 32 balls. Rajesh Bishnoi also enjoyed the run-feast, hitting a 26-ball 31.
MP Demolish Andhra
Central Zone champions Madhya Pradesh handed out a nine-wicket drubbing to Andhra in a Group A match at KIIT Cricket Ground. Put into bat, Mohammad Kaif-led Andhra surrendered meekly as they were bundled out for 58 after getting reduced to 35 for eight. Only three of their batsmen reached double figures, while four failed to open account. Left-arm seamer Anurag Singh was the wrecker-in-chief, as he captured three wickets for eight runs.
Meanwhile, Himachal Pradesh edged Jharkhand by 12 runs, defending a modest total of 130.
Brief scores: Punjab 143/5 in 20 ovs (Himanshu Chawla 37 no, Manan Vohra 34, Jaskaranveer Singh 32; Shesdeep Patra 3/33) lost to Odisha 144/5 in 18.1 ovs (Anurag Sarangi 45, Abhilash Mallick 41) by 5 wkts; Rajasthan 183/7 in 20 ovs (Suryaprakash Suwalka 50, Ankit Lamba 44, Rajesh Bishnoi 31) bt Hyderabad 97 in 18.3 ovs (Hanuma Vihari 46; Aniket Choudhary 3/10) by 86 runs; Andhra 58 in 16.4 ovs (Anurag Singh 3/8) lost to Madhya Pradesh 59/1 in 6.4 ovs by 9 wkts; Himachal Pradesh 130/3 in 20 ovs (Ankush Bains 41, Prashant Chopra 30) bt Jharkhand 118/8 in 20 ovs (Ishan Kishan 32; Bipul Sharma 3/21) by 12 runs.