On a day when 13 wickets fell, Saurashtra were struggling at 96 for five at the end of the third day's play while chasing 212 for victory against Odisha in a Ranji Trophy Group B match here today.
Saurashtra need 116 more runs with five wickets in hand.
Resuming on 62 for two, ahead by 104 runs due to their first innings lead, Odisha failed to tighten the nooze as Saurashtra clawed their way back into the game with Deepak Punia's five for 39.
Bowled out for 169 in their second innings with Subhranshu Senapati top-scoring with 57, Odisha took an over lead of 211 runs.
Chasing a 212-run target for their first win of the season, Saurashtra lost two wickets in three balls in the fifth over, reeling at six for two, before an 84-run third-wicket stand between Sagar Jogiyani (42) and Sheldon Jackson (43) brought the team back into the game.
However, in the fag end of the day, Odisha took three wickets in 31 balls for one run to leave the contest evenly poised.
Brief scores:
Odisha: 228 & 169 (Subhranshu Senapati 57; Deepak Punia 5/39).
Saurashtra 186 & 96 for 5 in 52 overs (Sheldon Jackson 43; Dhiraj Singh 2/6).
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
