Odisha won a good toss as its seam trio of Basant Mohanty, Suryakant Pradhan and Deepak Behera skittled out hosts Haryana for a paltry 127 in a group league encounter of the Ranji Trophy cricket tournament, here today.
At stumps, Odisha did well to finish at 39 for no loss having seen off the final 18 overs in the day. They now need 88 runs to take the first innings lead.
Earlier, it was Odisha skipper Abhilash Mallick, who won the toss and promptly put the hosts into bat.
Basant (3/40), Suryakant (3/35) and Deepak (3/33) shared the spoils equally amongst themselves as Abhimanyu Khod (38) could make a significant contribution. The green-top and conditions aided seam bowling and the Odisha bowlers pitched it in right areas to gain maximum advantage as Haryana were all out in only 41.1 overs.
The post-lunch session on second day is best for batting and Odisha would want their former captain Natraj Behera (29 batting) to capitalise on the start that he has got.
Another man, who has played a lot at this venue is Biplab Samantray and his experience will come in handy.
Brief Scores: Haryana 1st innings 127 in 41.1 overs (Abhimanyu Khod 38, Basant Mohanty 3/40, Suryakant Pradhan 3/35, Deepak Behera 3/33).
Odisha 1st inning 39 for no loss in 18 overs (Natraj Behera 29 batting).
