Mushtaq Ali Meet: Abhishek Raut’s Unbeaten 74 Not Enough as Odisha Lose 3rd Match

Lucknow: Odisha were no match for Punjab in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 meet, losing their Elite Group A match by 60 runs here today.

This was Odisha’s third defeat in the six-team group. Their only win was registered against Goa.

Chasing an imposing target of 190, Odisha were reduced to 10 for 3 in the fourth over.

Allrounder Abhishek Raut was the lone Odisha batsman to defy the Punjab attack, but his unbeaten 74 off 56 balls, with nine boundaries, was never going to be enough. From 55 for 6, Abhishek Raut added 62 runs for the sixth wicket with Bikash Rout, who made 22. But that partnership only helped Odisha reduce the margin of defeat as they finished at 129 for 7.

Earlier, Punjab opted to bat first only to lose star opener Shubman Gill — caught by Prayash Singh off Debabrata Pradhan – for just 9. Gill’s fellow-opener Prabhsimran Singh (40) and Abhishek Sharma (30 off 16 balls) then put on 44 runs in 5.1 overs.

But it was a rollicking stand of 96 between Ramandeep Singh (54 off 23 balls) and Gurkeerat Mann (48 not out) in 7.3 overs that hurt Odisha the most.

Bikash Rout bagged 2 wickets, while Jayanta Behera was the most economical Odisha bowler, conceding 25 runs in 4 overs.

Scores: Punjab 189/4 in 20 overs. Odisha 129/7 in 20 overs.

Result: Punjab won by 60 runs.