Brilliant allround display by Shiv Sagar Singh

In the latest round of the three day East Zone Under-22 Tournament which ended on Thursday, Orissa beat Sikkim by an innings and 69 runs. The other match between Bengal and Assam as well as the one between Tripura and Bihar ended in a tame draw.

In the match played at the Engineering College Ground, Cuttack, Orissa outplayed the minnows Sikkim. Orissa were superior in all departments of the game. Having being put into bat by Sikkim, Orissa declared their first innings on 294/8 in 69 overs. Opener SA Mishra made 69 including eleven boundaries and put on 85 for the second wicket in 20.2 overs with S Biswal. Biswal was in fine form as he cracked 56 off 65 balls which included a six and eight boundaries. For the fifth wicket S Bahoo and SPD Barman added 75 in 15 overs. S Bahoo played a strokeful innings of 75 in 64 balls that was studded with eleven hits to the fence and two that sailed over for sixes. The Sikkim bowler P Dhoungyal was smashed all over the park but ended with the figures of 6-0-45-4. On the second day, Sikkim were bowled out for 92 in 37.5 overs in their first innings. The Orissa bowlers, spearheaded by S Khatwa (3/17) and Baljit Singh (3/8), sliced through the Sikkim innings. A Pinto with 23 (5 boundaries) tried to make a fight of it for Sikkim. It was no better for Sikkim in their second innings as they were bowled out for 133 in 57.5 overs, S Jehga with the figures of 16-3-32-5 doing the damage. A Pinto with 23 and S Banarjee with 37 tried to put up a fight as they added 44 for the fifth wicket in 19 overs. Sikkim had to go home without a point as Orissa claimed eight.

In the match played between Bengal and Assam at the Krishnanagar Stadium, Krishnanagar the result was a draw after three days of cricket. Assam won the toss and batted first against the host Bengal. Assam made 289 in 127.5 overs thanks to a patient knock of 112 by opener RM Gohain. He held the Assam innings together as he was at the crease for almost eight and a half hours and was the ninth batsmen to be dismissed. Gohain's marathon innings included seventeen boundaries. He added 102 for the fourth wicket in 49 overs with B Magar who made 43. For Bengal Shiv Sagar Singh 4/49 and RR Bose 3/68 were the pick of the bowlers. Bengal started disastrously losing the first two wickets with just six on the board. Opener T Roy with 45 (6 fours) and RR Nath 41 (6 fours) added 74 for the third wicket. Shiv Sagar Singh followed his good bowling performance with an unbeaten 111 in 151 balls including eight boundaries and three sixes. He put on 90 with Dharmedra Singh (53) for the seventh wicket. For Assam K Saikia took three wickets as Bengal declared their first innings at 341/7 in 110 overs. Assam were 14/1 in their second innings at close of play. Bengal took five points to Assam's three.

In the third match to be played at Polytechnic Institute Ground, Agartala, Tripura played host to Bihar. Bihar won the toss and elected to bat and made 108 in their first innings. S Shukla and SZ Hussain shared the ten wickets between them as Bihar completely lost its way. Tripura matched their brilliant bowling performance with a good batting diaplay as they made 202 in 107 overs, thanks largely to a half century by A Sattar who made 53. For Bihar, Manoj Kumar had the bowling analysis of 30-17-33-4. Bihar were not cowed down in their second innings as they declared on 262/7 in 94 overs. M Vardhan was unlucky to be dismissed for 98 which included 15 strokes to the fence. A Martin was the pick of the Tripura bowlers with three wickets. In the remaining time Tripura made 57/2 in 26 overs as the match ended in a draw. Tripura collected five and Bihar three points for their efforts in the field.