Tangi (Cuttack), Jan 19: Fourteen wickets tumbled on Day 1 of the Odisha-Jammu and Kashmir Ranji Trophy Group-D match, here on Friday.
Predicting right in bowling friendly conditions, visitors Jammu and Kashmir chose to field first in the picturesque DRIEMS Ground, here.
Only four Odisha batters could reach double-digit score. The home side collapsed dramatically for only 130 in just 47.2 overs after a relative good start.
Seasoned Govinda Poddar (55 in 62 balls) was the only batsman to show some intent and application. Poddar did not hesitate to play his shots with 9 hits to the fence. But he went out of partner and was the last wicket to fall.
Odisha openers duo Anurag Sarangi and skipper Shantanu Mishra played with patience and almost saw off the new ball with caution. In 23.2 overs, they put up 41 runs partnership.
But once Anurag Sarangi fell for 11, the floodgates almost opened. Captain Mishra (28 in 103 balls) tried hard to resist the collapse. But excepting Poddar, no one stood tall, as J&K bowlers prevailed on the bowling-friendly track.
Toward the end, Odisha fast bowler Rajesh Mohanty played an useful 11-run cameo, but that could only delay the eventual Odisha collapse for some time. He shared a solid 62-run partnership with Poddar.
Team India skipper's namesake 29-year-old J&K right-arm medium pacer Rohit Sharma was the most successful bowler with an impressive 5/12 figure. His fifer nearly ended Odisha's home advantage.
Sharma was ably supported by Indian pace sensation Umran Malik (2/34) and right-arm medium bowler Umar Nazir Mir (2/27).
In reply, J&K struggled with 45/4 in 18 overs. But they too had a good start like Odisha, as their openers played attacking cricket and put on 39/1 in just 6 overs.
But once aggressive opener and captain Shubham Khajuria (24 in 30 balls) was claimed LBW by speedster Debabrat Pradhan, his partner Vivrant Sharma (14 in 33 balls) too followed him. Sharma was removed by right-arm pacer Sunil Roul, who got him caught by Odisha captain Shantanu Mishra.
Two quick wickets then followed as Abhinav Puri (1) and Abdul Samad (1) departed in quick succession. Roul claimed Puri LBW, while the other Odisha pacer Rajesh Mohanty claimed Samad, getting him out caught by Sandeep Patnaik.
Of the 14 wickets that fell on Day 1, pacers claimed 13. The only remaining wicket was Odisha's Prayash Singh getting run out by Jammu and Kashmir skipper Khajuria.
Brief scores:
Odisha: 130/10 in 47.2 overs (Govinda Poddar 55, Rohit Sharma 5/12)
Jammu and Kashmir: 45/4 (Shubham Khajuria 24, Sunil Roul 2/8).
