Bhubaneswar: Odisha ended a potentially promising campaign in the Vijay Hazare Trophy on a disappointing note at Alur, Karnataka, on Thursday.
Defending a modest total of 250, Odisha did well to reduce Railways to 140/5, thanks to Govinda Poddar’s double strike in the 31st over.
However, Sahab Yuvaraj Singh’s unbeaten 118 (134 balls) and his unbeaten 114-run partnership with Zubair Ali (65* off 43 balls, 3×4, 5×6) killed Odisha’s hopes and carried Railways to a five-wicket win.
Earlier, half-centuries by youngsters Soumya Lenka (56) and Sambit Baral (50), and skipper Biplab Samantray’s 43 helped Odisha to 251 which turned out to be inadequate.
It was Odisha’s third defeat in a row after three straight victories. They finished sixth in Elite Group D with 12 points, missing out on a knockout berth.
Delhi (24) topped the group while Saurashtra (20) finished second.
BRIEF SCORES
Odisha 251 in 49.5 overs (Soumya Lenka 56, Sambit Baral 50, Biplab Samantray 43; Raj Choudhary 3/32, Varun 3/53).
Railways 254/5 in 45.2 overs (Sahab Yuvraj Singh 118*, Zubair Ali 65*; Govinda Poddar 2/46).
Result: Railways won by 5 wickets.
Points: Railways 4, Odisha 0.
Group D standings: Odisha finished 6th (12 points), Railways 4th (16 pts).
