Cuttack, Feb 03: Hosts Odisha and visitors Puducherry were evenly placed at stumps on Day 2 of the Group D Ranji Trophy battle at the Barabati Stadium, here on Saturday.
After bundling out Odisha for 322 in 120.2 overs, Puducherry were 127/4 in 43 overs, trailing by 195 runs.
Despite losing the top four, Puducherry had all the reasons to feel assured of a good fight back on Day 3, as their skipper Arun Karthik was unbeaten on 77 in 104 balls. He displayed his authority hitting 12 boundaries and appeared at ease facing Odisha bowlers.
Karthik was accompanied by right-arm off-break all-rounder Fabid Ahmed, who was not out on 31 having faced 73 balls. He displayed lot of patience and resilience and hit only two boundaries allowing his captain to dominate the proceedings, He was happy playing a second fiddle.
Inform Odisha pacer Rajesh Mohanty scalped two wickets, while his new ball partner Debabrata Pradhan claimed one. The fourth Puducherry wicket that fell on the day, was due to a smart piece of fielding by young Odisha wicketkeeper Ashirwad Swain, who dismissed opener Jay Pande (run out) for 10.
Earlier, Odisha posted 322 in 120.2 overs in their first innings. The two overnight veterans Govinda Poddar (80) and Biplab Samantray (82) despite scoring freely, failed to reach their individual triple-digit scores.
Young keeper Ashirwad Swain impressed with his 40 runs effort. But he eventually ran out of partners and was the last man to be dismissed.
For Puducherry, right-arm pacer Gaurav Yadav scalped 5 wickets and gave away 69 runs. He was well supported by the other two medium pacers Saurabh Yadav (4/81) and Ravi Yadav (1/54).
The match though is evenly poised, but lot would depend on how Odisha pacers perform on Day 3 first session, with bowling friendly conditions at the familiar Barabati pitch.
If Odisha can wrap up the visitors quickly, with a good first innings lead, and then post some quick runs, then the matching heading for a tame draw have some interesting turns.
If they can set a target beyond 200 before Puducherry, then Odisha may dream of their second consecutive home victory this season. The fact remains Puducherry will have to bat on a Day 4 Barabati track, which in all probability will help Odisha bowlers.
This season. Odisha have played four matches so far. They have won one, lost two and managed a first innings lead in the fourth.
Odisha won their last match at Tangi DRIEMS Ground against Himachal Pradesh.
Prior to that, Odisha have lost to Baroda by 147 runs in Vadodara, drawn with Madhya Pradesh in Indore (enjoyed first innings lead though), lost to Jammu and Kashmir in DRIEMS Ground, Cuttack by 2 wickets. They have 9 points from four outings.
Brief Scores:
Odisha 322 in 120.2 overs (Biplab Samantray 82, Govinda Poddar 80, Gaurav Yadav 5/69)
Puducherry 127/4 in 43 overs (Arun Karthik 77*, Fabid Ahmed 31*, Rajesh Mohanty 2/35).
Puducherry trail by 195 runs.
Match to Continue.
