OCA U-16 inter-district tournament: Nabarangpur, Kandhamal, Sundargarh record convincing wins

Cuttack: Nabarangpur, Kandhamal, Mayurbhanj and Sundargarh notched impressive victories on Day 3 of the OCA U-16 Inter-District Cricket Tournament 2025 (Second Phase), while Cuttack-B, Dhenkanal and Kendrapara also registered crucial wins in their respective matches.

At Railway Ground, Jatni, Nabarangpur cruised past Nayagarh by 8 wickets after bowling them out for 108. Ashutosh Gantayat starred with a five-wicket haul (10-2-33-5) before Debendra K. Rout’s unbeaten 61 guided Nabarangpur to 111/2 in 24.5 overs.

In another Group match at Town Club Ground, Mula Padia, Kandhamal chased down Bhubaneswar-B’s 152 with five wickets to spare. Anuj K. Yadav anchored the innings with an unbeaten 71 off 94 balls, while Saurabh Yadav chipped in with 44.

At Adashpur Ground, Mayurbhanj edged past Sambalpur-A by three wickets. Chasing 140, Mayurbhanj reached the target in 44.2 overs, led by Gambhir Pingua’s all-round show-he took 3 for 24 and helped restrict the opposition earlier.

Meanwhile, Sundargarh recorded the most dominant win of the day, crushing Sonepur by 163 runs at Sunshine Ground. Neil N. Mohanty starred with a brilliant 111 off 110 balls and also bagged two wickets.

At Bidanasi Ground, Cuttack-B defeated Khordha by 5 wickets, thanks to G Hemanth’s fiery spell of 5 for 21. In Nimpur, Dhenkanal’s Badal K. Patra produced the day’s best bowling figures, taking 8 for 24 to bowl out Rayagada for 118 and secure a 49-run win.

At Hi-Tech Medical Ground, Kendrapara comfortably beat Kalahandi by 6 wickets, with Pragyan Mishra (3 for 28) leading the bowling attack and Omm P. Das scoring 31 in the chase.

At Ravenshaw-II Ground, Sambalpur-B thrashed Gajapati by a massive 160-run margin, powered by Dayanidhi Padhan’s sensational 9-wicket haul (7.1-4-6-9)—one of the best bowling figures of the tournament so far.

Elsewhere, Puri overcame KIIT by 2 wickets, chasing 96 after Aryan Mohanty’s five-wicket haul (10-2-31-5) restricted the opposition to 95.

Top Performers of the Day:

— Dayanidhi Padhan (Sambalpur-B) – 9 wickets for 6 runs
— Neil N. Mohanty (Sundargarh) – 111 runs & 2 wickets
— Badal K. Patra (Dhenkanal) – 8 wickets for 24
— Ashutosh Gantayat (Nabarangpur) – 5 wickets for 33
— Aryan Mohanty (Puri) – 5 wickets for 31