Orissa on the verge of defeat

Orissa were staring defeat in the eye on day four of the Ranji Trophy Plate group final after being reduced to 202 for eight in their second innings by Himachal Pradesh at the Barabati Stadium

Orissa were staring defeat in the eye on day four of the Ranji Trophy Plate group final after being reduced to 202 for eight in their second innings by Himachal Pradesh at the Barabati Stadium here today.

With just two wickets remaining, Orissa were ahead of their rivals by just 42 runs with a day’s play remaining.

Wicketkeeper Haladhar Das, whose batting had boosted Orissa this season, was on 47 with tailender Sourav Sehgal, on 1. For Himachal, Paceman Vikramjit Malik, left arm spinner Vishal Bhatia and skipper Sandeep Sharma captured two wickets each.

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After conceding a 160 run first innings lead, Orissa began their second innings well with Shiv Sundar Das (31) and Bikash Pati (13) putting on 38 runs. But five wickets tumbled in the post-lunch session for a paltry 96 runs with Bhatia and Malik making inroads. Bhatia bowled skipper Pravanjan Mullick for 30.

Earlier Orissa bowlers toiled through the entire pre-lunch session as the Himachal tail continued to wag. The ninth wicket pair of Sarandeep Singh (50) and Ashok Thakur (70) added 114 runs.

Brief scores: Orissa 317 & 202/8 (SS Das 31, H Das batting 47; V Malik 2/56, V Bhatia 2/48, S Sharma 2/20). Himachal Pradesh 477.