Odisha Pro T20 League: Gourav Choudhary shines in Bhubaneswar Tigers' win

Cuttack, Sep 19 (IANS) Gourav Choudhary’s heroics with the bat, who scored the first century of the event, helped Bhubaneswar Tigers register a thrilling win in the 5th match of the Odisha Pro T20 League 2025, handing Keonjhar Miners a 37-run defeat at the Barabati Stadium here on Friday.

Chasing a target of 199, Debabrata Pradhan and Om T. Munde opened the innings for Keonjhar Miners. They were reduced to 28/2 at the end of three overs, with both openers dismissed cheaply. Munde scored 5 off 5 balls, while Pradhan added just 9 from 7 deliveries.

Biwabhusan Bihari was the top scorer with 38 off 32 balls, while Soumya Lenka contributed 19 from 11 deliveries. Towards the end, Anil Parida played a brisk knock of 36 off 19 balls, but it wasn’t enough to take his side over the line.

For Bhubaneswar Tigers, Suryakant Pradhan starred with the ball, returning figures of 3-11 in 4 overs. Jayanta Behera was equally impressive with 3-14 in his 4-over spell. Badal Biswal (2-43), Debabrata Pradhan (1-21), and Sambit Beja (1-32) chipped in with wickets as Keonjhar Miners were bundled out short of the target.

After losing the toss and being put into bat first, Prayan Samal and Gaurav Choudhary opened the innings for Bhubaneswar Tigers. Prayan was dismissed for just 5 in 8 balls. Bivash Shaw added 21 in 8 balls, and Rajesh Dhupar scored 20 in 22 balls.

Gaurav Choudhary returned as the top scorer of the innings as he scored the first century in the league. He was dismissed for 113 in 56 balls. At the end of the 20th over, Bhubaneswar Tigers posted a score of 198/8.

For Keonjhar Miners, Papu Ray took 2-38 in his 4 overs. Sarbeswar Mohanty picked 2-37 in his 4 overs. Soumya Lenka(1-45) and Shekhar Majhi(1-21) took one wicket each in the innings.

--IANS

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