Odisha win in Ranji Trophy, Stay in Elite Group
Bhubaneswar: Odisha registered their third win in the Ranji Trophy by defeating Saurashtra in the last league match at Barabati Stadium, Cuttack. With this win, Odisha made sure that they stay in the elite group, while Saurashtra relegated to the Plate Division (Group C). Odisha finished 5th in Group B with this win. Chasing a victory target of 283, which looked almost impossible because of the wicket conditions, Govind Podder (64) and Anurag Sarangi (83) provided a solid platform to Odisha, which eventually led to their victory. They reached 283/8 and won the match by two wickets. Abhilash Mallick scored 21. Trivedi took four wickets. The match took many twists and turns after the new ball was taken by Saurashtra. Odisha were in danger of losing the match at one stage. But, Biplab Samantray (19), Basant Mohanty (10*) and Deepak Behera (21*) batted well to see their team through. Chirag Jani was declared ‘Man of the Match’. In Ranji Trophy 2014-15 season, Odisha defeated Haryana in Rohtak and Punjab in Mohali earlier. Hoowever, they had lost to Rajasthan, Delhi and Gujarat. Their matches against Maharashtra and Vidarbha ended in draw. Brief Scores: Saurashtra 218 (Chirag Jani 99*, Jogiyani 21, Pujara 20; Basant Mohanty 4/40, Deepak Behera 2/38, Alok Mangaraj 4/57) and 152 (D Jadeja 24, Pujara 39*; Basant Mohanty 3/35, Deepak Behera 3/29, Alok Mangaraj 3/51) lost to Odisha 88 (Paresh Patel 27; Unadkat 3/33, Sudeep Tyagi 5/24) and 283/3 (Girija Rout 22, Govind Podder 64, Anurag Sarangi 83, Abhilash Mallick 21, Deepak Behera 21*; Trivedi 4/45, Unadkat 2/65) by 2 wickets.
Inter PSU Badminton, Table Tennis concludes
Bhubaneswar: Inter PSU Badminton and Table Tennis 2015 was organised by Sports Council, NTPC Talcher Kaniha at Recreation Centre on Sunday. Employees from PSUs NAlCO,MCl and NTPC Talcher Kaniha participated in this one day tournament. The tournament was inaugurated by N K Kothari, Group General Manager,Talcher Kaniha in presence of JVN Rao ,General Manager (O&M), U K Das Gupta ,GM(Maintenance) and other senior officials. The one day tournament saw participation of total 15 groups in both badminton and table tennis .NTPC Talcher Kaniha was the winner and NAlCO team was the runner in the badminton sports whereas in the Table Tennis MCl was the winner and NAlCO was adjudged as the runner team. SK Suar ,President ,Sports Council , Sudhir Pani ,Secretary and Bijay Bag, Joint Secretary of Sports Council along with other sports officials were present on the occasion.
OPTCl, BDA win in HoD Cup Cricket tourney
Bhubaneswar: OPTCl and BDA defeated Tech Mahindra and Directorate Agriculture by 53 and three runs respectively in the HoD Cup Cricket Tournament at Kalinga Stadium here on Monday, being organised by Odisha Heads of Department. Batting first, Abhaya Mallick scored 105 runs and guided the OPTCl to score 203 runs in 20 overs for the loss of three wickets. In reply, Somanath Baliarsingh of OPTCl scalped two wickets and restricted Tech Mahindra for 150 runs in 20 overs for the loss of four wickets. Abhaya of the wining team bagged the man of the match award. In another match, BDA edged out Directorate of Agriculture by three wickets. Nirmal Biswal of the winning team bagged the man of the match award. Brief score: OPTCl 203/3 in 20 overs (Umakanta Baliarsingh 43, Abhaya Mallick 105) beat Tech Mahindra 150/4 in 20 overs (Ambika Prasad 38 n.o; Somonath Baliarsingh 2/18) by 53 runs. BDA 116/8 in 20 overs (Dillip Kanhar 34, CR Das 32; Nirmal Biswal 5/16, Sanjay Behera 3/30) beat 113/6 in 20 overs (Sasi Kanta Patra 41, Jaganath Jhali 3/16)
Host Unit-6 enter Utkalika football quarterfinals
Bhubaneswar: Host Unit-6 Athletic Association defeated AG Odisha by 4-1 goals and entered the quarterfinals of the Tata Utkalika Football Tournament at Unit-6 High School Ground here on Monday, being organised by Unit-6 Athletic Association. Razak Nag of Unit-6 scored double goals in the ninth and 13th minutes respectively and hismate Antaryami Nayak netted a goal in the 22nd minute and increased the lead to 3-0 goals in the firsthalf. After the change of sides, once again Antaryami netted another goal in the 77th minute. Chatan Nayak of AG scored the solitary goal in the 80th minute to reduce the winning margin. Defending champion Yazdani Club 73 would meet Sports Hostel Cuttack on Tuesday.