Suryakant Pradhan creates History for Odisha

Pacer Suryakant Pradhan became the first bowler of Odisha to take a seven-wicket haul in ODI format of first class cricket, as he powered his team to a 235-run victory over Jharkhand in the East Zone leg of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. However, Odisha finished third in the zone after Assam and Bengal and failed to qualify for the knockout stage.

Suryakant beat the record of former Test cricketer and today’s Odisha Coach Debashis Mohanty, who had taken five wickets against Bengal in 2000-01. The 20-year-old Suryakant, who hails from Khordha, conceded just 39 runs.

Several records were created in yesterday’s match. This is the highest-ever victory margin for Odisha in ODI format. Also, Paresh Patel and Arabind Singh added 214 runs for the second wicket – a new record for Odisha.

Arabind scored a century on his debut. He is the first player from Odisha to score a hundred in debut in the List A matches. Odisha scored 353/4 in 50 overs, thanks to Paresh Patel (126) and Arabind Singh (132). Jharkhand were 43/8 at one stage, but managed to score 93 in the end.