EZIU Cricket Tournament: Big wins for Ranchi University, Burdwan University and BHU
Cuttack/Bhubaneswar: The EZIU Cricket Tournament, featuring as many as 74 university teams, continued to deliver thrilling contests across multiple venues in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar on Monday (Jan 12), with several dominant victories and standout individual performances.
The tournament is being played in a knockout-cum-league format, with all matches scheduled as 20-over contests. Having kicked off on January 10, the competition will run until January 22, across different cricket grounds. All matches are being officiated by umpires and scorers from the Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) panel.
At the Bidanasi ground, the University of Burdwan registered a six-wicket win over CSVTU. CSVTU were bowled out for 126, with Sumit Das producing a superb spell of 5 for 21 in four overs. Burdwan then chased down the target, finishing at 127 for 4. At the same venue, Berhampur University advanced after being awarded a walkover against NLU Odisha.
Ranchi University stamped their authority at Ravenshaw Ground 1 with an emphatic 88-run victory over Aryabhatta Knowledge University. Ranchi posted 173 for 6, riding on Ronit Aryan’s quick 54 off 34 balls, before dismissing AKU for 84. Sumit Oraon chipped in with three wickets for 18 runs. In another match at the venue, SOA University defeated VSSUT by six wickets after bowling them out for 88. Sana Sreyansh starred with the ball, claiming 5 for 24, while Aditya Ranjan Ray anchored the chase with an unbeaten 65 off 52 balls.
At Ravenshaw Ground 2, Tripura University defended 148 for 8 to beat Vidyasagar University by 24 runs. Subham Sutradhar scored 32 runs, and Rohan Biswas picked up three wickets to restrict Vidyasagar to 124 for 8. In a high-scoring encounter at the same ground, KIIT outplayed SMK Vishwavidyalay by 135 runs. KIIT posted a formidable 218 for 8, powered by M. Prashant’s explosive 71 off 33 balls, before bowling out their opponents for 83, with Asish Bhuyan taking 3 for 12.
The MGM Ground witnessed two one-sided games. Hemchand Yadav Vishwavidyalay cruised to a nine-wicket win over Sarla Birla University after skittling them out for 38. Avyudaya Singh led the bowling with figures of 3 for 4. In the other match, BHU chased down Assam University’s 102 without losing a wicket, with Vatsalya Yadav earlier picking up 5 for 24.
At the DRIEMS ground, Magadha University registered a commanding 128-run win over OP Jindal University. Magadha posted 205 for 5, thanks to Yasraj Singh’s solid 79 off 52 balls, and then bowled out OP Jindal for 77. In the final match of the day, Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith edged past Saheed N Patel Vishwavidyalay by 21 runs. MGKV made 157 for 9, with Om Verma scoring 62 off 32 balls, and then defended the total despite Ramkrishna’s five-wicket haul for SNPV.
