the goan I network
PANAJI
Recalled Odisha opener Sandeep Pattanaik struck a resolute second First Class hundred as the home side made slow but steady progress in a keen Ranji Trophy contest against Goa on the opening day in Cuttack on Monday. The 20-year-old batsman scored 100 (194b, 10x4, 1x6) to help Odisha post 229/7 in 90 overs in the Round IX Elite Group C fixture played at Vikas Cricket Ground.
Goa -- needing to win this match to harbour any hopes of staving off relegation to the Plate Group in the ensuing season -- put in the home team to bat. Odisha were reduced to 59/3 when Pattanaik chose the occasion to convert his potential into performance with his State senior side. The opener strung a significant 113-run fourth-wicket association with middle-order batsman Shantanu Mishra, who made a patient 59 (183b, 6x4).
Odisha went to stumps on 229/7 with lower middle-order batsman, Abhishek Raut playing himself in on 13 while Suryakant Pradhant making vital runs with a run-a-ball unbeaten 21, laced with two boundaries and a maximum.
In the Goa attack, pacers Krishna Das and Lakshay Garg shared the spoils in the top order, scalping two wickets apiece, while Amogh Desai as first-change played his part with two wickets.
