Odisha beat Tripura by six wickets

Kolkata: Odisha put up an all-round show to post a comfortable six-wicket win over Tripura in a low-scoring affair in the East Zone league match for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament at JU second campus ground in Salt Lake here on Tuesday.

Odisha off spinner Jayanta Behera claimed three for 22 including two in two balls, while pacer Basanta Mohanty (2/17) got rid of the tail to bundle out Tripura for a mere 116 in 19.5 overs after they were put in to bat.

In reply, opener Paresh Patel (43 from 37 balls; 4x2, 2x6) gave Odisha a flying start as he along with Natraj Behera (23) put up 44 runs for the opening wicket before Govind Podder (17 not out) sealed the chase with an over to spare.

Tripura briefly came back into the game when they took three wickets for just 33 runs to leave Odisha reeling at 108 for four at one stage. But in the end, the total proved too small to defend on a flat wicket.

Earlier, the Tripura batsmen showed lack of application as they failed to stay in the middle for long, losing wickets at regular intervals after Podder leaked 12 runs in the first over.

Tripura had two brief partnerships when Manisankar Murasingh (38) was in the middle but the Odisha off spinner Behera grabbed two wickets in two balls, while a third one fell with addition of only three runs to the score.

Thereafter, Tripura simply failed to bring their campaign back on track.

Brief Scores:

Tripura: 116 all out 19.5 overs (Manisankar Murasingh 38; Jayanta Behera 3/22, Basant Mohanty 2/17).

Odisha: 119 for 4 in 19 overs (Paresh Patel 43, Natraj Behera 23).