Cuttack: Odisha crashed to a 162-run defeat in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group D match against Uttarakhand here on Monday.
It was Odisha’s third defeat in six matches, pushing them to seventh place (12 points) with one match left.
Faced with a huge task on the final day at DRIEMS ground, Odisha batted resolutely to try and force a draw but fell just short.
Starting the day on 17/2 chasing 377 for victory, Odisha batters negotiated 82.4 overs before being dismissed for 214 at the fag end of the day.
Sandeep Pattanaik fell early this morning as Odisha slumped to 29/3.
It was clear that Odisha’s challenge was to play out time rather than go for victory.
Subhranshu Senapati (61 off 151 balls) and nightwatchman Debabrata Pradhan (37 off 75) batted for 21 overs in adding 49 runs. Subhranshu and Govinda Poddar (19 off 70) then consumed 23 overs.
The remaining batsmen put up some resistance too, with Biplab Samantaray (15) playing out 54 balls, Prayash Singh (9 off 41 balls), Rajesh Mohanty (19 off 61) and Harshit Rathod (16 off 41), but pacer Deepak Dhapola (5/74) was well supported in the end by Mayank Mishra and Swapnil Singh as the left-arm spinners polished off the last three wickets.
Brief Scores
Uttarakhand 342 & 203/8 declared
Odisha 169 & 214 (Subhranshu Senapati 61, Debabrata Pradhan 37; Deepak Dhapola 5/74).
Result: Uttarakhand won by 162 runs.
Points: Uttarakhand 6, Odisha 0.
Group D Standings: Uttarakhand 4th (14 points in 6 matches), Odisha 7th (12 pts in 6 matches).
Odisha’s final match: Vs Delhi (from Feb 16 at Delhi).
