Ranji Trophy 2019-20 | ODI v BEN - Three late strikes give Bengal the edge
Three Odisha wickets late in the day helped Bengal gain an edge over Odisha in proceedings in the second quarter-final at the DRIEMS Ground in Cuttack. Earlier, the visitors had posted 332 on the board courtesy of Anustup Majumdarâs 157, while Basant Mohanty starred for Odisha with four wickets.
Brief scores: Bengal 332 all-out in 96.5 overs (Anustup Majumdar 157; Shahbaz Ahmed 82, Basant Mohanty 4-53) vs Odisha 151/4 (Debasish Samantray 68; Shantanu Mishra 62; Nilkantha Das 2-20)
Resuming play at 308 for six, Bengalâs tail succumbed to Mohantyâs morning spell in a little over 10 overs, which meant the hosts had nearly the entire day to bat. In the 67.2 overs they did face, Odisha crawled their way past the 150-mark, but at the cost of four wickets â three of which fell in the last 10 overs of the day.
After Nilkantha Das removed Anurag Sarangi early on, it was down to Shantanu Mishra and the in-form Debasish Samantray to steady the ship with a century-stand (125 runs). Samantray, the more aggressive of the two, notched up another half-century, which included 10 fours and a six, before he became Dasâ second victim of the day.
The hosts then lost two more wickets, with Mishraâs 214-ball marathon innings coming to an end first, with the score at 145. Ishan Porel removed Govinda Poddar off the first ball of his 18th over as the umpires called stumps on day two.
