OCA U-16 inter-district super league: Cuttack-A, Sundargarh and Rest of Odisha-B clinch first-innings wins

Cuttack: The opening day of the Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) U-16 Inter-District Super League 2025 featured strong bowling performances, with three matches – Cuttack-A vs Jharsuguda, Sundargarh vs Puri and Rest of Odisha-B vs Keonjhar – decided on the basis of first-innings lead.

At the Gatirout Patna Ground, Cuttack-A gained a narrow first-innings win over Jharsuguda. Jharsuguda, batting first, were bowled out for 76 in 35.2 overs despite a fighting 53 from Lucky Singh. For Cuttack-A, Saikrishna Behera (3/10) and Sairaj Sahoo (3/15) were the pick of the bowlers. Cuttack-A managed 107 in reply, with Abhisek Kalia (37) and Om Prakash Das (24) steadying the innings. Despite a fine spell from Sachidanand Mali (4/21), Cuttack-A took the decisive lead. Sairaj Sahoo was named the stand-out performer.

In another fixture at Bidanasi Ground, Sundargarh dominated Puri to secure a first-innings win. Batting first, Sundargarh piled up 251 runs, led by Aditya Sagar’s 71 and Soumyaraj Suna’s 51. Puri’s MS Swadhin K. Pramanik took five wickets for 60 runs. In response, Puri were bundled out for just 69 as Ajay Mahato produced a match-winning spell of 7 for 23, guiding Sundargarh to victory on first innings.

At Nimpur Cricket Ground, Rest of Odisha-B defeated Keonjhar after a low-scoring battle. Keonjhar were dismissed for 63, with Shreejeet Bhuyan (5/12) and Sideswar Bag (2/4) doing the damage. Rest of Odisha-B replied with 105, powered by Ayush Pradhan’s 32 and Chandan K. Singh’s quick 22. Keonjhar’s Ashutosh K. Naik (5/1) impressed with the ball, but his effort went in vain as Rest of Odisha-B took the lead. Bhuyan was declared the stand-out performer.

Meanwhile, at the Sunshine Cricket Ground, Rest of Odisha-A reached 163 in their first innings against Bhubaneswar-A, riding on a solid 77 from Mikun Dalnaik. For Bhubaneswar-A, Ahvaan Mishra (3/26) and Mrutyunjaya Tripathy (2/0) bowled economical spells. At stumps on Day 1, Bhubaneswar-A were 37 for 2, trailing by 126 runs with D. Sobhan (21) and Shreyansh Bidhar (14) at the crease.