NAGPUR: Odisha skipper Sandeep Pattanaik (110 n.o; 190b, 14x4) must be a happy man after he got an invitation to bat after losing the toss on Sunday. The Odisha outfit were surprised by Vidarbha's decision to bowl on a nice hard wicket and they made the most of it by scoring 281 for 4 on Day 1 of the Col CK Nayudu Trophy match at Jamtha stadium.
Skipper Sandeep scored an unbeaten century and gave a handsome start to his side on the back of two notable partnerships. Odisha openers Om (85 off 173b) and Gaurav Choudhary (45 off 77b) saw off the initial 7-8 overs. Then, they started unraveling their shots. Both openers looked confident against quality pace attack comprising Aditya Thakare (17.3-4-44-1), Darshan Nalkande (13-0-64-1) and Praful Hinge (14-1-56-1).
Though Aditya got just a wicket, his control and consistency throughout the match made him stand out on the opening day. Thakare, who was surprisingly left out of the Ranji squad, bowled to the field and swung it both ways in front of the selectors for Under-25 and Ranji Trophy watching the match.
However, the Odisha frontline batters scored at a little less than 4 runs per over and took their total to 100 before Gaurav got out on Yash Kadam's bowling in the 28th over. It was the only bright spot for Vidarbha in the first session.
In the next two sessions, it was centurion Sandeep who not only carried the innings single-handedly but also took Om and Anil Parida (18) for two partnerships. With Om, he added 74 runs for the second wicket. Later, Sandeep joined hands with Anil and scored 75 runs for the 4th wicket before the latter got out in the last over of the day on Thakare's bowling.
BRIEF SCORES: Odisha 281 for 4 in 89.3 overs (Sandeep Pattanaik 110 n.o, Om 85, Gaurav Choudhary 45; Aditya Thakare, Darshan Nalkande, Praful Hinge & Yash Kadam took a wicket each)
