Cuttack: Sarbeswar Mohanty’s dream spell helped Keonjhar Miners thump Puri Titans by 45 runs in the second match of the Odisha Pro T20 League (OPTL) 2025 at Barabati Stadium.
Opting to bat first, Keonjhar Miners posted 159/8 in their allotted 20 overs, thanks to Sujal Singh’s 48 off 35 balls and Anil Parida’s 26-ball 37. Md Danish was the pick of Puri’s bowlers, bagging 4/34 in his 4 overs.
Puri Titans started the chase miserably, as both openers Shantanu Mishra (4) and Anurag Sarangi (7) fell cheaply. They were never on track, and were skittled out for 114 in 18.1 overs.
Sarbeswar Mohanty claimed a rare fifer in T20 cricket, finishing with magical figures of 5/12 in just 2.1 overs. Sayed Ahmed chipped in with 2/21 from 3 overs.
Keonjhar skipper Govinda Poddar attributed the convincing victory to a fine team effort.
“It was a satisfactory victory… truly a team effort, despite a few early wickets. Our lower order held firm and contributed well, which helped us put up a good total on board. Sarbeswar bowled brilliantly, and reaped the rewards of the groundwork laid by Soumya Ranjan Lenka, Papu Ray and Syed Ahmed,” said Poddar.
Cuttack Panthers clinch last-ball thriller in League opener
In the opening game of the league on Wednesday evening, Cuttack Panthers notched up a thrilling 3-wicket win over Bhubaneswar Tigers.
Gourav Choudhary (78 off 43) and Rajesh Dhupar (65) guided Bhubaneswar to a decent 188/5.
However, Cuttack Panthers chased down the target off the last delivery.
Openers Swastik Samal (52) and Panakala Sasanka (46) put on 74 runs, but it was Sourav Gouda and Subham Satrujit’s heroics which ultimately sealed the deal for Cuttack. The duo added 50 in quick time, with Gouda smashing 34 in just 11 balls and Satrujit remaining unbeaten on 34 in 19 balls.
