Samal’s double ton in vain as Saurashtra beat Odisha | Bhubaneswar News
Swastik Samal’s brilliant double century went in vain as Odisha went down to Saurashtra by 5 wickets in their Elite Group D Vijay Hazare Trophy encounter in Alur on Wednesday.Opening the batting, Samal made 212 off 169 balls, which included 21 fours and eight sixes, and was well supported by captain Biplab Samantray, who made 100 off 91 balls. The duo came together with the scores reading 59 for 3, and they put up a partnership of 261 runs as Odisha made 345/6 in their 50 overs in their opening match of the domestic meet.Needing 346 to win, Saurashtra didn’t have a great start and were 28/2 in the eighth over. However, once Sammar Gajjar came to the middle, he took hold of the chase and led Saurashtra to victory with seven balls to spare.The debutant made an unbeaten 132 off 118 balls and got good support from Vishvaraj Jadeja (50), Prerak Mankad (47), and Chirag Jani (86). Later, Ruchit Ahir also scored an unbeaten 22 as Saurashtra made a winning start to their Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign.While Debabrata Pradhan did take 3/73 in his nine overs, none of the other Odisha bowlers could make any impact and leaked runs freely.Earlier, Odisha were in trouble after being asked to bat first, but Samal had other plans as he took on the Saurashtra bowlers from the word go and sent the fielders on a leather hunt. Not only did he score his maiden century, but he also became the 14th Indian man to record a List A double hundred.The opener was in fine touch recently, having also scored 169 against Nagaland in the Ranji Trophy in November. He also has a first-class century against Maharashtra, which he achieved last year. However, despite such a showing on the day, the bowlers couldn’t defend the total, and Samal just had to be content with the Player of the Match award. Brief scores: Odisha 345 for 6 in 50 overs (Swastik Samal 212, Biplab Samantray 100; Ankur Panwar 3/68). Saurashtra 347 for 5 in 48.5 overs (Sammar Gajjar 132, Chirag Jani 86; Debabrata Pradhan 3/73). Saurashtra won by 5 wickets.
