OCA inter-district school cricket tournament: Jharsuguda, Sambalpur-A, Rourkela and Puri register wins

Cuttack/Bhubaneswar: Multiple one-sided contests and a few close finishes marked the third phase of the OCA Inter District School Cricket Tournament 2025-26, played in the one-day format across different venues on Wednesday.

Jharsuguda posted 177 all out in 36 overs against Bargarh, riding on a steady 69 not out off 96 balls by Shreans Padhi and a quick 27 from Shreejoy Dutta. Bargarh’s bowlers Vaibhav Patel (3 for 23) and Ariyan Barik (3 for 2) kept things tight. In reply, Bargarh were bundled out for 108 in 22.3 overs despite Jasan P. Kisan’s 22. Jharsuguda’s Ansh Singh starred with the ball, claiming 5 for 46, as his side won by 69 runs.

In another match, Sambalpur-A cruised to a five-wicket win over Gajapati. Gajapati were dismissed for 73 in 31.2 overs, with Manindar Singh producing a remarkable spell of 7 for 5 in 6.2 overs. Sambalpur-A chased down the target at 74 for 5 in 19 overs, with Ayansh Pattanaik scoring 25 and Manindar Singh contributing 16, capping off an all-round performance.

Dhenkanal registered a comfortable victory against Khordha. Khordha were bowled out for 55 in 23.5 overs as Suraj Tarai wreaked havoc with figures of 5 for 8. Dhenkanal reached the target at 59 for 5 in 18.2 overs to win by five wickets.

Rourkela edged past Cuttack-A by 18 runs. Batting first, Rourkela managed 100 all out in 40.4 overs, with Nandu Bodra top-scoring with 25. Cuttack-A were restricted to 82 all out in 22.3 overs, despite Anshuman Patanaik’s 30, as Yuvraj Singh picked up 3 for 26 to seal the win.

A tense low-scoring encounter saw Puri defeat Deogarh by four runs. Puri posted 112 all out in 28.5 overs, led by Sunil Satapathy’s 46 off 38 balls. Deogarh fell just short at 108 all out in 29.1 overs, with Dibyadarshan Paikaray returning figures of 3 for 31 for Puri.

The biggest win of the day came in a match where Mayurbhanj overwhelmed KIIT by 261 runs. Mayurbhanj piled up a massive 326 all out in 49.5 overs, thanks to Saswat Giri’s commanding 121 off 134 balls and Rajiv Sanker’s fluent 91. KIIT were then skittled out for 65 in 21.2 overs, as Mayurbhanj’s bowlers dominated to complete a crushing victory.