Bhubaneswar: It looked like mission impossible for Odisha after Goa had posted 371/4 in their Vijay Hazare Trophy Group A fixture at Jaipur on Saturday.
But Odisha’s batters gave it their best shot to make a match of it. In the end, they lost by 27 runs.
Gaurav Choudhary (78 off 67 balls, 9×4, 1×6) and Swastik Samal (57 off 46, 8×4, 1×6) put on 107 runs for the opening wicket. Skipper Sandeep Pattanaik (73 off 71, 6×4, 2×6), Kartik Biswal (49 off 51) and Aashirwad Swain (53 off 31, 4×4, 2×6) maintained the tempo. At 248/3 in the 38th over, Odisha had an outside chance to pull off a stunning win.
But Pattanaik was run out. Left-arm medium-pacer Arjun Tendulkar then bagged three wickets to cut short Odisha’s gallant fight. Arjun, the son of legendary Sachin Tendulkar, did his adopted team a big favour by dismissing Abhishek Raut (7), Biswal (49) and Rajesh Mohanty (6) in the space of six overs.
Goa earlier rode a 159-run opening stand between Ishaan Gadekar (93) and Snehal Kauthankar (69), and a smashing 22-ball unbeaten 74 (8×4, 5×6) by Suyash Prabhudessai to a formidable total of 371/4 in 50 overs.
It proved sufficient, but only after they were given a scare by Odisha batters.
Brief Scores
Goa 371/4 in 50 overs (Ishaan Gadekar 93, Darshan Misal 79, Suyash Prabhudessai 74*, Snehal Kauthankar 69; Abhishek Raut 2/45).
Odisha 344 all out in 49.4 overs (Gaurav Choudhary 78, Sandeep Pattanaik 73, Swastik Samal 57, Aashirwad Swain 53, Kartik Biswal 49; Arjun Tendulkar 3/61).
Result: Goa won by 27 runs.
Odisha’s next match: Vs Assam on Dec 23.
