Gujarat pacer Kalaria puts Odisha on backfoot
Press Trust of India Cuttack Gujarat pace spearhead Rush Kalaria bagged five wickets to put Odisha on the backfoot on the opening day of the Group B Ranji Trophy cricket match, here today.
Electing to field at DRIEMS Ground, Tangi in the four-day encounter, Kalaria got to business right away to pick opener Anurag Sarangi for nought and kept hurting the Odisha batting line-up regularly as the hosts ended Sunday on 219 for eight.
Opener Natraj Behera (75) remained the top-scorer of the day, only to be run out post a quick reaction from Kushang Patel.
The middle-order batsmen got starts but failed to capitalise as Kalaria and poor shot-selection accounted for their departure.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Halhadar Das (34 not out) and Suryakant Pradhan (8 not out) are battling on.
Medium-pacer Kushang and left-arm spinner Axar Patel also picked up a wicket each.
Brief Scores:
Odisha 219/8 in 90 overs (Natraj Behera 75, Govinda Podder 37; Rush Kalaria 5-54).