Syed Mushtaq Ali T20: Govinda, Suryakant shine as Odisha registers 2nd win

Ranchi/Bhubaneswar: Govinda Poddar's fifty and pacer Suryakant Pradhan's four-wicket haul ensured Odisha to register its second victory in the ongoing East Zone leg of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy in Ranchi on Friday. With this Odisha secured four points from this big 72-run victory against Tripura.

Chasing a target of 180 in 20 overs, Tripura was bowled out for only 107 in 17.2 overs.

Earlier, winning the toss and batting first, Odisha openers Rajesh Dhuper and Anurag Sarangi added 53 runs for the first wicket. Anurag got out LBW for 18 while wicketkeeper Rajesh Dhuper scored 42 off 34 before being run-out.

However, it was the partnership between Govinda Poddar and Subhranshu Senapati that laid the foundation for the team. They added 67 runs for the third wicket.

Senapati scored 30 off 24 balls while Poddar, who made a comeback into the T20 team, scored 55 off 28 balls with four boundaries and four sixes. Odisha finished with 179/6 in its allotted 20 overs.

Suryakant Pradhan wrecked havoc from the very first over by sending both Smit Patel and Yashpal Singh back into the hut without a run on the board. In his second over in the match, Suryakant again took a sharp catch on his follow-through to pick the wicket of the other opener Udiyan Bose.

Tripura then never recovered from the early blow. Though skipper Mura Singh (23) and Gurinder Singh (39) tried their best to save the match, no other Tripura batsman failed to face a strong bowling lineup of Odisha.

Prayas Singh Thakur, Debabrata Pradhan, Jayanta Behera, Abhishek Raut and Govinda Poddar took one wicket each for Odisha.

Odisha with eight points from its three games will now take on Jharkhand in a match scheduled to be played at JSCA International Stadium Complex on January 16.