Cuttack: Back-to-back wins, within a span of 20 hours, carried Cuttack Panthers to the top of the table in the inaugural Odisha Pro T20 League (OPTL) 2025.
After getting the better of Sambalpur Warriors by 17 runs in a rain-curtailed game on Monday night, Cuttack Panthers rode Biplab Samantray’s all-round show to an emphatic 5-wicket victory over Keonjhar Miners at the Barabati Stadium on Tuesday.
Thanks to 3 wins, Cuttack Panthers have 14 points from 5 matches.
In the first full game in three days, the Panthers on Tuesday chased down the target of 128 with 9 balls to spare. Samantray played a crucial knock of 43 off 34 balls, while Sourav Gouda anchored the chase with an unbeaten 56 off 39 deliveries.
Samantray earlier did the star turn with the ball, too, bagging 5 wickets in 4 overs, conceding just 18 runs as Keonjhar Miners were bowled out for a modest 127 in 20 overs.
Anil Parida top-scored with 36 for Keonjhar, while the consistent Papu Ray was the pick of their bowlers (3/20 in 4 overs).
Panthers trump Warriors in rain-curtailed contest
On Monday night, rain reduced the match between Cuttack Panthers and Sambalpur Warriors to a 12-over contest.
Samantray’s golden arm did the trick for Panthers, as the experienced allrounder bagged 4/29 in 2.4 overs to dismiss Sambalpur Warriors for 111 in 11.4 overs. Adithya Rout’s 10-ball 32 and Prayash Singh’s 32 off 23 deliveries weren’t enough for Sambalpur.
Cuttack, asked to bat first, managed a decent total of 128/9 in their allotted 12 overs. Subham Satrujit was the top-scorer with 33 off 17 balls, while Abhisek Rout smashed 28 runs off 11 balls.
