Ranji Trophy: Rajesh Mohanty stars as Odisha register first win of season

Guwahati/Bhubaneswar: Odisha registered its first victory by 9 wickets in the Elite-C group Ranji trophy match against host Assam at Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati today.

Rajesh Mohanty won man of the match for his brilliant 11 wicket haul (5 and 6 wickets in the 1st and 2nd innings respectively).

With the win, Odisha has now a total of seven points from three matches. It had earlier drew its first match of the season against Haryana followed by a 10-wicket loss to Uttar Pradesh.

After winning the toss and choosing to bowl first, Odisha managed to restrict Assam to a meagre 121 runs on the scoreboard thanks to a brilliant 5-wicket spell from Rajesh Mohanty.

The visitors then added a decent total of 240 with the help of opener Anurag Sarangi’s 77 and skipper Biplab Samantaray’s 62 in the fast-paced track of Barsapara Stadium thereby earning a vital 119 runs lead.

The hosts were again bundled out for a low 132 runs in the second innings. Rajesh Mohanty was the pick of the bowlers from Odisha with his 6 for 55 runs in 21 overs. The visitors wrapped up the match after being given a target of 13 runs today.

Odisha will play its fourth match against Tripura at DRIEMS ground in Cuttack on November 28.