Subit Biswal of JSP Sparks Jagatsinghpur plays a shot in the match against Western Samurai (Rourkela) at Barbati Stadium in Cuttack. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Bhubaneswar, June 8: Balasore Baghas rustled up a challenging total of 147 against Cooperative Kings Dhenkanal at the Railway Stadium here today. Star batsman, Govind Poddar sent Dhenkanal on a leather hunt by blasting three sixes and 12 boundaries in his knock of 94 that came off 55 balls. The Baghas lost four wickets, one of which was a run-out.

Till reports last came in, the Dhenkanal side had scored 13 runs for the loss of one wicket in two overs.

Katak Barabati Tigers (Cuttack) clashed with Kashvi Power Rangers (Keonjhar) at Kadam Padia in Angul today. Opting to bat first, the Keonjhar team managed to put up just 113 runs on board and lost nine wickets. The highest scorer, Narendra Das scored 58 runs off 47 balls. For Cuttack, Bibhudutta Panda bagged five wickets for 18 runs in a spirited bowling attack while skipper Biplab Samantaray took two for 16. This is the first five-wicket haul of the OPL tournament.

As per latest updates, the Barabati Tigers were 12 for no loss in two overs.

In the encounter between JSP Sparks (Jagatsinghpur) and Western Samurai (Rourkela) at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, the Sparks posted 127 runs for the loss of six wickets in 20 overs. Subhit Biswal top-scored with 34 runs while Jayaram Rath made 26. Rourkela’s Satish Moharana captured two wickets while Pritamjeet Das claimed one.

In reply, the Samurais were reeling at 19 for two at the end of three wickets. Angul Tuskers registered an emphatic seven-wicket victory over Puri Emperors in Bhubaneswar yesterday.

The Puri team suffered a batting collapse and scored 109 runs for the loss of the eight wickets. Angul skipper, Debasish Mohanty and Sukant Das took three wickets each.

Although the Tuskers lost some crucial early wickets, a solid partnership stand between Aravind Singh (38) and Sujit Lenka (41) steered them to a seven-wicket victory in 16.3 overs.

In the other match at the Barabati Stadium, Cuttack, JSP Sparks (Jagatsinghpur) defeated minnows Berhampur Bhanja Veers. Batting first, the Sparks had put up 141 runs with Deepak Behera smashing 58 runs.

In reply, the Bhanja Veers made a dismal start and were struggling at nine for three at the end of two overs. A fighting innings by captain, Lagnajit Samal (42) and Devendra Choudhary (39 runs) could not avert the loss to the leaders of Group A.

With this win, Jagatsinghpur has confirmed a berth in the semi-final. On the other hand, Puri Emperors are now out of the race after their fourth loss in the tournament.

The points table, as updated after Tuesday’s matches, stands like this: Jagatsinghpur is ruling the Group A table with ten points with Rourkela following closely behind with nine points. Angul has eight points, Puri, five while Berhampur is placed lowest with two points.

Indomitable Cuttack is leading Group B with 12 points followed by Balasore (nine), Dhenkanal (six). Keonjhar (five) has moved up to the fourth position while Bhubaneswar is at the bottom with four points.