Calcutta, Dec. 10 :
Calcutta, Dec. 10:
Debashish Mohanty and Ajay Barik wrecked havoc in the morning session and handed the hosts one of their worst defeats in recent times to ensure Orissa's entry into the Wills Trophy for next season.
Mohanty took five for 22 and Barik two for 15 as Bengal were dismissed for just 103 - their lowest total in the Wills Trophy - at Eden Gardens today. Orissa took 27 overs to reach the target, losing a couple of wickets.
Orissa ended the qualifying round with an all-win record while this was the first defeat for Bengal in four matches.
On winning the toss, Bengal skipper Devang Gandhi opted to bat first - a decision which outrageously backfired within as early as the second ball of the day. A Mohanty delivery pitched in line and took a treacherous deviation, catching Nikhil Haldipur completely offguard.
Within seven overs, Bengal were nine for five and four overs later, with further departures of Utpal Chatterjee and Sanjib Sanyal, all hopes of a fightback vanished. Wrichik Mazumder (37) and Srikant Kalyani (21) made desperate attempts to hold back the predictable, but the result, by that time, had become a foregone conclusion.
Although Mohanty earned lion's share of the Bengal wickets, Barik was the pick of the Orissa bowlers with his excellent use of the conditions.
Barring some initial jolts, Pradip Das (39) and Sanjay Raul (42) put on an unseparated third-wicket partnership of 78 to guide Orissa to victory.
'No excuse, we played badly, pretty badly,' Devang told reporters after the match.
Mohanty, on the other hand, described his performance in the match as 'my best so far in domestic cricket.' 'I was looking for such a show in big matches.'
Assam beat Bihar
Assam beat Bihar by five wickets in another tie at CC & FC with Javed Zaman taking four for 15.
BRIEF SCORES Bihar 134 (Mihir Diwakar 30, Javed Zaman 4/15). Assam 140/5 (J. Zuffri 39, Rajesh Bora 38 n.o.; Diwakar 4/33). Assam won by 5 wkts.