Cuttack: An exciting final day is in store as Odisha will be pushing for an outright victory in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group D clash against Pondicherry.
Having taken a first-innings lead of 38 runs, Odisha reached 122/4 in their second essay at stumps on the third day at the Barabati Stadium.
The top four all got starts but failed to convert those into big runs. Openers Shantanu Mishra (28) and Anurag Sarangi (22) put on 58 before the home team slumped to 77/3. With Sandeep Pattanaik (16) and Subhranshu Senapati (19) also back in the pavilion, it’s up to the experienced duo of Govinda Poddar (batting 19) and Biplab Samantaray (batting 5) to set Pondicherry a challenging target and give the bowlers enough time to pick 10 wickets.
Odisha would have fancied a bigger first-innings lead at one stage as they reduced Pondicherry to 190/6. However, skipper Arun Karthik (110) and the lower-order batters added 94 runs for the last four wickets.
Odisha used seven bowlers, with all but one getting among the wickets. Medium-pacers Rajesh Mohanty and Sunil Roul bagged two wickets apiece, as did left-arm spinner Harshit Rathod.
Brief Scores
Odisha 322 & 122/4 (Shantanu Mishra 28).
Pondicherry 284 (Arun Karthik 110, Krishna Pandey 42; Rajesh Mohanty 2/42, Harshit Rathod 2/55, Sunil Roul 2/63).
Match to continue on final day, Odisha lead by 160 runs.
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