Haryana-Orissa tie fizzles to a tame draw

The Haryana-Orissa tie at Cuttack ended in a draw at the end of the last day. The low scoring game finished just before the scheduled close. Having secured a first innings lead, Haryana were in a strong position. At the end of the third day, Haryana were 279/8. They added just 9 runs to their overnight score and took the field on the morning of the last day.

Orissa were set a stiff target of 340 off 82 overs. They did not attempt to go after the score at any point. Losing wickets at regular intervals, Orissa somehow managed to stave off the Haryana bowlers. The fact that the top score was 49 from RR Parida shows clearly that none of the batsmen could get going.

Sonu Sharma who picked up seven wickets in the first innings could not repeat his performance. Sharma, Jain and Dalal picked up two wickets each as Orissa slumped to 210 for 6.

Both Orissa and Haryana had no chance of qualifying for the next phase of the tournament. At the end of the match, Haryana had 8 points and Orissa finished on 14, well short of the leaders in the their group.