Jaipur: Odisha made short work of Group A minnows Manipur in a Vijay Hazare Trophy clash in Jaipur on Saturday.
Opting to bowl first in the curtailed 47 overs-a-side match, Odisha skittled out Manipur for 100. Debutant medium-pacer Tapas Das (4/17) and his new-ball partner Rajesh Mohanty (3/14) proved to be too hot to handle for Manipur. Basir Rahman top-scored with 20, while six batters fell for single-digit scores.
Odisha cruised to the target for the loss Gaurav Chaudhury’s wicket, with 27 overs to spare.
Swastik Samal and skipper Sandeep Pattanaik remained unbeaten on 50 and 24, respectively.
Odisha, with 8 points from 4 matches, will have to win their remaining games – against Jharkhand, Haryana and Gujarat – to have any chance of qualifying for the knockout stage.
Brief Scores
Manipur 100 all out in 40 overs (Tapas Das 4/17, Rajesh Mohanty 3/14).
Odisha 104/1 in 20 overs (Swastik Samal 50 not out).
Result: Odisha won by 9 wickets (with 162 balls remaining)
Group A position: Odisha 4th (8 points from 4 matches)
Odisha’s remaining matches: Vs Jharkhand (Dec 31), vs Haryana (Jan 3), Gujarat (Jan 5).
