Rourkela batsman Natraj Behera plays a shot during the match against Angul in Cuttack. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Bhubaneswar, June 9: Western Samurai (Rourkela) skipper, Nataraj Behera cracked an unbeaten ton to help his team post a mammoth total of 176 runs against Angul Tuskers at the Barabati Stadium, Cuttack today. So far, this is the highest total of the OPL. After Biplab Samantaray, Behera (100 not out off 66 balls) was the second to score a century in the tournament. Till reports last came in, Angul were 52 for two in four overs. If they fail to achieve the total in 11.3 overs, Jagatsinghpur would qualify for the semi-finals.

The Berhampur Bhanja Veers were bundled out for 89 runs in 19.1 overs in their last league match against Puri Emperors at the Railway Stadium here today. Sumitosh Praharaj (4/22) and Rakesh Mohanty (3/4) wrecked the batting line-up. As per latest updates, Puri was 30 for two in 6 overs.

In Angul, Cuttack registered a thumping nine-wicket victory over Keonjhar. The Keonjhar team had managed to score 113 runs for the loss of nine wickets. Cuttack’s Bibhudutta Panda (5/18) claimed the first five-wicket haul of OPL while skipper, Biplab Samantaray took two for 16.

Rourkela is back on top in the Group A points table after defeating group leaders Jagatsinghpur by three wickets at Cuttack yesterday. Chasing a target of 128 runs, the Rourkela team steered to victory in 19.3 overs. Rourkela is now the champion of Group A.

At Angul, Govind Poddar smashed a blazing 94 runs to set up Balasore Baghas’ crushing 54-run victory over Dhenkanal yesterday. Batting first, the Baghas had put up a challenging total of 147 runs. In reply, the Dhenkanal side was skittled out for 93 runs in 17.1 overs.

Henceforth, all matches would be played at Barabati. Meanwhile, the Orissa Cricket Association (OCA) has revised the semi-final and final fixtures. Earlier, both the semi-finals were scheduled to be played at 3pm and then 7pm on June 10 at the Barabati. But now, the first semi-final (between champions of Group A and runners-up of Group B) would start at 8pm on June 10. The second semi-final (between champions of Group B and runners-up of Group A) would be played on June 11 at the same time.

On June 12, the losing semi-finalists would clash for the third position in a “playoff” at 8am. The final match would be played in the evening at 8pm. On the closing day, the audience would be treated to a colourful cultural show from 6:30pm to 8pm.