Vijay Merchant Trophy: Himnish Sahu’s five-for helps Odisha seal first-innings lead in drawn clash with Pondicherry

Gwalior: A fine five-wicket haul by Himnish Sahu set up Odisha’s dominance as they secured a valuable first-innings lead in their Vijay Merchant Trophy (U-16) multi-day match against Pondicherry, which ended in a draw at the Shrimant Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium, here on Wednesday.

After Pondicherry opted to field, Odisha posted a solid 305/6 declared in their first innings, built around a superb century from Midhanshu Das, who scored 136 off 179 balls with 21 fours. He received able support from Aurobinda Muduli, who ground out 56 off 166 deliveries. For Pondicherry, Anshif led the bowling with 4 for 74, while Bharani claimed 1 for 52.

Also read: Midhanshu Das’ 136 puts Odisha firmly ahead as Pondicherry trail by 119 runs on Day 2

In response, Pondicherry were bowled out for 287, handing Odisha a slim first-innings lead of 18 runs. Abhay Singh top-scored with a patient 70 off 130 balls, while Pranshu Sorout added 67 off 75 deliveries. The innings, however, was derailed by Himnish Sahu, who produced a superb spell to finish with 5 for 47 from 25.4 overs, well supported by Gunjan Sahoo, who picked up 3 for 57.

Odisha then began their second innings positively and reached 62/2 in 9.3 overs before play ended. Ashutosh Kumar Naik struck a brisk 30 off 27 balls, while Midhanshu Das chipped in with 28 off 27 deliveries. Bharani was the wicket-taker for Pondicherry, claiming 2 for 9**.

With no result possible, the match ended in a draw, but Odisha emerged with the upper hand by virtue of their first-innings lead, capped by Himnish Sahu’s match-defining bowling performance.