Cuttack:19/10/24: Odisha faced a familiar batting crisis in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group A fixture against Jammu & Kashmir here at the Barabati Stadium before recovering through skipper Govinda Poddar.
Chasing the visiting team’s 270, Odisha reached 198/5 at stumps on the second day, thanks to an unbroken sixth-wicket partnership of 92 runs between Poddar and wicketkeeper-batter Aashirwad Swain.
Resuming on their overnight score of 15/1, Odisha started promisingly and progressed to 52 before Sandeep Pattanaik fell for 27. Skipper Poddar arrived at the crease and stitched a 45-run stand with opener Anurag Sarangi, who battled hard for his 35.
Then, Odisha lost three wickets — including those of Biplab Samantaray (1) and Kartik Biswal (4) — for the addition of just 9 runs to slump to 106/5.
Luckily, Poddar found an able ally in young Aashirwad, who realized the gravity of the situation and put his head down to defy the J & K bowlers.
Aashirwad was happy to play second fiddle and ended the day on 25. The fact that he faced 93 balls and struck just 2 boundaries showed the teenager’s maturity and resolve to support his captain.