Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s decision to bowl first paid in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group A clash against Meghalaya at the Polo Ground on Thursday. Debutant pacer Tapas Das claimed six wickets to dismiss Meghalaya for 198.
The openers then laid a solid foundation to guide Odisha to 70 without loss at stumps on the opening day, with Swastik Samal unbeaten on 44 and Shantanu Mishra on 23.
The 28-year-old Tapas, who bagged 8 wickets in the recent Vijay Hazare Trophy 50-over competition, drew first blood in the sixth over. Sunil Roul, who came on as first-change, struck in his first over.
Tapas (6/67) and Roul (3/31) then combined to cut through the Meghalaya innings. Left-arm spinner Sumit Sharma claimed the other wicket.
The only decent partnership in the Meghalaya innings came through Jaskirat Sachdeva (43) and Sumit Kumar (40), who added 65 runs for the sixth wicket.
Brief Scores
Meghalaya 1st innings: 198 all out in 64.3 overs (Jaskirat Sachdeva 43, Sumit Kumar 40; Tapas Das 6/67, Sunil Roul 3/31).
Odisha 1st innings: 70 for no wicket in 18 overs (Swastik Samal batting 44, Shantanu Mishra batting 23).
Match to continue on Day 2.
