OCA inter-district school cricket tournament: Big wins for Bhubaneswar-B, Angul; Balasore edge Sonepur

Cuttack: Several one-sided results and a thrilling close finish marked the second phase of the preliminary league of the OCA Inter District School Cricket Tournament (2025–26), as five matches were played across different venues on Sunday.

At the Ravenshaw-I Ground, Bhubaneswar-B registered a dominant 155-run victory over Jagatsinghpur. After opting to bat, Bhubaneswar-B posted a strong 237 all out in 38.5 overs, led by Sai Swarup Mallick’s 60 off 67 balls and Aditya K Majhi’s brisk 40 off 37 deliveries. Jagatsinghpur’s chase never took off as they were bowled out for 82 in 29.5 overs, with Rihan Samal scoring 33. Subham Mishra starred with the ball, claiming 5 for 10 in 6.5 overs to earn the stand-out performer honour.

In a close contest at the Ravenshaw-II Ground, Balasore edged past Sonepur by one wicket. Sonepur, batting first, were dismissed for 147 in 41.3 overs, with Bhawesh Banjara top-scoring with 30. Balasore chased down the target with just one wicket to spare, finishing at 148 for 9 in 40.5 overs. Omkar Tripathy’s 42 off 72 balls anchored the innings, while Abjeet Panda remained unbeaten on 25. Antaryami Parida was named stand-out performer for his economical spell of 2 for 16.

Bhadrak produced a crushing performance against Koraput at the BJB School Ground, Khordha. Koraput were skittled out for just 23 runs in 14 overs, with Adarsh K Bhal wreaking havoc by taking 5 for 10. Bhadrak chased the target without losing a wicket, reaching 24 in just three overs to seal a 10-wicket win.

Angul recorded another emphatic result at the Sunshine Cricket Ground, defeating Kalahandi by 10 wickets. Kalahandi were bowled out for 161 in 43.5 overs despite Jaskaran Singh’s patient 55. Omm Sri S Sahoo led the bowling effort with a superb 6 for 22. Angul then raced to 163 without loss in just 15 overs, with Akhil Pradhan and Omm Sri S Sahoo scoring unbeaten 64 each. Sahoo was named stand-out performer for his all-round display.

At the DRIEMS Cricket Ground, Sambalpur-B beat Balangir by 48 runs. Sambalpur-B posted 218 for 5 in 38 overs after being put in to bat, with Soumil Padhi scoring an unbeaten 63. Balangir were bowled out for 170 in 35.3 overs despite Ayushman Seth’s 47. Prayash Samal was the pick of the bowlers, returning figures of 5 for 31, and was adjudged stand-out performer.