Cuttack: Odisha narrowly missed out on an outright victory in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group D clash against Pondicherry at Barabati Stadium here on Monday.
Having set the visiting team a target of 240, Odisha reduced Pondicherry to 175/8 before time ran out on the fourth and final day.
The draw gave Odisha 3 points, by virtue of first-innings lead, for a total of 12 points after five games. Odisha, currently in fifth place, will require full points from their last two games to have an outside chance of making the knockout stage.
After being all out for 201 in their second innings, Odisha pacers Rajesh Mohanty and Sunil Roul reduced Pondicherry to 0 for 2, sending back both openers without scoring.
A 55-run partnership followed, before Sunil Roul struck.
Odisha then faced strong resistance from Paras Ratnaparkhe (72) and Arun Karthik (58 not out).
Once their 89-run stand was broken by Harshit Rathod, Odisha made further inroads to push for victory.
But skipper Karthik stood firm till the end to deny Odisha victory.
Biplab Samantaray and Rajesh Mohanty bagged 2 wickets each, while Pradhan, Roul, Rathod and Govinda Poddar claimed one apiece.
Brief Scores
Odisha 322 & 201 (Govinda Poddar 46; Sagar Udeshi 4/45, Gaurav Yadav 3/48).
Pondicherry 284 & 175/8 (Paras Ratnaparkhe 72, Arun Karthik 58 not out; Biplab Samantaray 2/28, Rajesh Mohanty 2/41).
Result: Match drawn.
Points: Odisha 3, Pondicherry 1.
Standings: 12 points in 5 matches (5th), Pondicherry 13 pts in 5 matches (3rd).
Odisha’s next match: Vs Uttarakhand (from Feb 9 at Cuttack).
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