Cuttack: Odisha pacers hit back after the batters came a cropper on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy clash against Jammu & Kashmir here on Friday.
In-form medium-pacer Sunil Roul bagged two wickets, while Rajesh Mohanty and Suryakant Pradhan took one each to have Jammu & Kashmir tottering at 45/4 at stumps. Odisha earlier were skittled out for a paltry total of 130.
Playing their first home match of the Ranji season, Odisha found themselves in testing conditions after being asked to bat first at the DRIEMS ground.
However, skipper Shantanu Mishra and Anurag Sarangi gritted their teeth and applied themselves on a survival-first mode.
Runs were hard to come as Shantanu crawled to 28 off 103 balls and Anurag managed 11 in 59 balls.
Once J & K broke the stubborn 41-run opening partnership, the floodgates opened. The home team quickly crumbled to 67/8 as pacer Rohit Sharma bagged his maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.
As wickets fell like nine pins at the other end, the experienced Govinda Poddar counter-punched and went hard at the J & K bowlers. He got some assistance from No. 10 batter Rajesh, who made 11 and helped Govinda add 62 for the ninth wicket.
Govinda, playing his 81st first-class game, struck 9 boundaries and raced to 55 off 62 balls before being the last man to be dismissed.
As many as six Odisha batsmen, including Subhranshu Senapati who scored a record 277 in the previous game, fell for single-digit scores. Umar Nazir and Umran Malik, considered to be the country’s fastest bowler, took 2 wickets each.
Brief scores: Odisha 130 all out in 47.2 overs (Govinda Poddar 55, Shantanu Mishra 28; Rohit Sharma 5/12, Umar Nazir 2/27, Umran Malik 2/34). Jammu & Kashmir 45/4 in 18 overs (Sunil Roul 2/8).
Match to continue on Day 2.
