Assam score 209 for six

Cuttack, Jan 10 (UNI) Assam batsmen were struggling at 209 for six after being put into bat by hosts Orissa on the first day of Ranji trophy semi final match at the Barbati stadium here today.

Winning the toss, Orissa opted to field to take advantage of the morning dew. Former test seamer Debashis Mohanty struck early when he dismissed opener Chandan Rawat for 18.

With the low bounce on the wicket, Assam batsmen found it difficult to face the Orissa new ball bowlers.

Debashis claimed three wickets including the crucial wicket of Assam Captain J Arun Kumar who was caught by S S Das for 11 runs.

Tazinder Singh and Nishant Bordoloi were the two batsmen who settled down but failed to put up a big score. While Tazinder was bowled by Sanjaya Satpathy for 43 runs, Nishant was bowled by Niranjan Behera for 40 runs.

The day's play was interrupted for a brief spell when bees swarmed the ground causing players to run for cover. At close of play Kunal Saikia and Anand Kati were batting on 25 and 10 runs respectively.

For Orissa, Debashis claimed three wickets for 59 runs while Sukanta Khatua, Sanjaya Satpathy and Niranjan Behera claimed one wicket each.

Brief Score: Assam (1st Innings) 209 for six in 90 overs.

(Tazinder Singh 43, Nishant Bordoloi 40, Debashish 3 for 59 ) UNI DP PL PDS GC2052