Jwin half centuries help Orissa score 276/7 vs HP

Cuttack, Jan 28 (UNI) Helped by two fluent half centuries from the in-form Niranjan Behera and Rashmi Ranjan Das, host Orissa reached 276 for seven at the close of play on the first day of their Ranji Plate group final against Himachal Pradesh at Barbati stadium here today.

Winning the toss and electing to bat, Orissa openers Bikas Swarup Pati and Shib Sundar Das put on 43 before losing the first wicket, that of, Bikash Pati who scored 14 runs.

Niranjan Behera who came in at number three had a fruitful partnership with Shib Sundar Das. Both batsmen had scored freely justifying the team's decision to bat first.

Just as Das was looking good, he was trapped lbw by Sarandeep Singh for 43 runs.

Orissa batsmen flattered to deceive as they fell after settling down. None of them went on to put up a big score. Prabhanjan Mallick and Haladar Das were out both in their 30s.

Niranjan Behera and Rashmi Ranjan were the only two who crossed their individual half centuries before being out for 69 and 55 runs respectively.

Vishal Bhatia was the pick of Himachal Pradesh bowler and captured four for 80 runs. Ashok Thakur, Sarandeep Singh and Mukesh Sharma took one wicket each.

At draw of stumps, Debashis Mohanty and Sanjaya Satpathy were not out on 9 and 3 runs respectively.

Brief Score: Orissa 1st Innings: 276 for 7 in 88 overs ( Niranjan Behera 69, R R Das 55, Vishal Bhatia 4 for 80 ) UNI