Gujarat make Merai after Hughes scare

Cuttack: For once, it seemed to be a recap of the horror that unfolded at the haloed Sydney Cricket Ground on that fateful Tuesday afternoon of November 25, bringing down the curtains abruptly on the life of Phillip Hughes. Bowler Biplab Samantray’s heart must have missed a beat when his bouncer hit Gujarat batsman Bhargav Merai. Thanks to the helmet, there was no repeat of the SCG accident. Merai shrugged off the shock, and remained unbeaten on 87 as the visitors ended the day on 255/4 here at DRIEMS cricket ground on Monday.
It was the fourth ball of the 48th over of the Gujarat innings is when it happened. Samantray’s well-directed short ball caught Merai flush on the right side of his helmet as he went for a hook. The Gujarat No. 3 fell to the ground as each and every Odisha cricketer ran in with utmost concern. Thankfully, Merai suffered only from a brief spell of dizziness and took guard again. Standing at the other end was skipper Parthiv Patel, who on the eve of the match, had asserted that despite Hughes’ episode the game will continue to see its share of bouncers and batsmen may get hit in the process.
While Merai showed grit, Odisha’s performance, for the second day running, was lacklustre. They find their backs to the wall as a result. Resuming their innings on 219 for eight Monday morning, the hosts could muster only six more runs in 3.2 overs before folding up. Wicket-keeper batsman Haladhar Das, who remained unbeaten on a dogged 32 on Sunday, failed to trouble the scorers as he became the last Odisha wicket to fall after Rush Kalaria snapped up Suryakant Pradhan to register a six-wicket haul.
With a paltry 225 to defend, Basant Mohanty & Co began began well as Samantray picked up opener Samit Gohil in the 16th over of Gujarat’s innings. But the bowlers’ efforts were not supported by Odisha fielders. For all his contribution with the willow and having snapped up three catches behind the stumps, Das’s atrocious wicket-keeping resulted in 14 byes, including three regulation takes that went for boundaries.
The tourists’ openers — in-form Priyank Panchal and Merai — adopted a resolute approach against a disciplined Odisha bowling before a minor lapse in concentration after the drinks break saw the former edge Deepak Behera to Das. With the pitch playing true, Merai and captain Parthiv had little problems scoring. Parthiv was the dominant partner till an in-dipper from Suryakant Pradhan, after tea, caught found his leg in front of the stumps.
Samantray claimed his second victim in Rujul Bhatt, with Das completing the formalities behind the wicket.
With Merai and Akshar Patel at the crease and a lead of 30 runs going into the third day, Debashis Mohanty’s boys would have to play out of their skins to stop Gujarat from winning.