Coach Mohanty rues Odisha batsmen's appr

New Delhi: Odisha coach Debasish Mohanty has criticized his batsmen for not applying themselves at the crease in the team's first innings on day one against Delhi at the Feroz Shah Kotla.

"The batsmen failed to apply themselves at the crease and were early onto their shots," said Mohanty after Odisha were bowled out for just 143 on Friday. "It's a beautiful track to bat on with something also there for the bowlers. It was a good toss to win, but we failed to capitalise on it. This was just the first day of the match and we do stand a chance of bouncing back with three days to go.”

On the other hand, Delhi's coach Vijay Dahiya was pleased with his team's performance, especially that of the bowlers. "I'm pretty pleased with the way the bowlers bowled today, especially Pawan Suyal and Manan sharma on his debut. The reason for their success was by pitching in the right areas.”

The visiting team was bowled out for 143 on a surface on which batting was not that difficult.

Like Mohanty, Dahiya also praised the Kotla pitch. “The wicket has a red tinge to it and it's holding on well and maybe in the second innings we can expect some turn and that was the reason for including two spinners in the side,” he said.

When asked if he considered Odisha a weak side, Dahiya pointed out that opposition managed to retain their place in the Elite group for two years after getting promoted from the Plate division and that they had few good players in their side.

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