When Delhi were battling for a win against Saurashtra in Baroda to stay alive in the knockout race, some 1500 km away an anxious Odisha side was keeping close tabs on the match. With Odisha only one point ahead of Delhis 21, the latters victory would leave Odisha needing to win outright against Jharkhand in their last league game beginning on December 15.However, unlike his team-mates, Odisha captain Govinda Poddar wasnt sweating over the outcome. He was attending a family function in his hometown Rourkela, and had decided to take his mind off the game. His team-mates, though, wouldnt let him be.I wasnt following the scores because I didnt want to be nervous about something I couldnt control. But, every once in a while, someone or the other would ring me up to tell me the score, he told ESPNcricinfo. I would tell them: Yaar, please put the phone down. Tell me at the end if they have lost or not.Not long after, Saurashtra snuffed out Delhis chances by four runs after last man Navdeep Saini was adjudged lbw. As a result, Odisha were into the quarter-finals of the Ranji Trophy for the first time since 2001-02. This time, Poddar didnt mind the phone calls.I have two phones and both started ringing at the same time. Our wicketkeeper Saurabh Rawat, and Ranjit Singh, the opening batsman, were the first guys to call, he said. When I picked up the phones, I heard their excited voices: Dada, we have qualified, congrats. Then, I called our coach Debasis Mohanty and we congratulated each other.Allrounder Biplab Samantray was one of the players who bombarded Poddar with score updates. He was at his home in Cuttack, discussing the match online with his team-mates. We were all sharing updates on our teams Whatsapp group, and whenever my internet slowed down, I would anxiously ask the others what the score was, he said.Its been 15 years since we have qualified for the knockouts, so obviously there is bound to be excitement. It was a dream of mine, personally, to play in the quarter-finals. We have been doing well this season and God has given us another chance to prove ourselves. We had our teams practice session this afternoon and everyone was excited about performing in a big match. Such things dont come easily.Odisha leave for Thiruvananthapuram on Monday for what would now effectively be a practice match against Jharkhand ahead of the quarter-finals scheduled to begin on December 24. Had Delhi won, the trip would have been a lot more tense, especially with what Odisha have gone through in the last week or so. They were grounded in Dindigul for a week after their last league fixture against Jharkhand was a non-starter following the death of Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa. Poddar called the hotel arrest a new experience that transcended cricket.From December 2 to 8, we were in Dindigul, he said. We went for practice only on the first two days, and a few hours before she passed away on December 5, there were rumours about her passing away. Our local manager feared there could be acts of violence and said we had to return to the hotel, which was about 35 km away from the ground [in Natham]. After we reached the hotel, we couldnt step out until December 8.It was frustrating, but it was a new experience in the sense we got to know a lot of new things. The passing away of a leader of such stature is sad news, and we could see what it meant to the people there.There was some anxiety over Odishas travel plans, and for a brief period, they didnt know the fate of their match against Jharkhand. There was a bit of apprehension over whether we could get out of town or not, and what would happen to the match, he said.So there was a lot of chaos, but all the boys got together and reassured one another that we couldnt afford to worry about the game. Whenever it took place, we had to be ready - there was nothing more we could do. For those five-six days, all we did was wake up, gather in somebodys room and order room-service. That we have bonded well all season has helped.After the team eventually got back to Odisha, they have had well-deserved downtime. Poddar hoped Odisha, rejuvenated by the break, would go further in the tournament. I was very desperate because some of our players have been performing well over the last few years, but still they are not getting to play at a certain level, he said. To come into the limelight, you need to play quarter-finals and semi-finals. Your matches are broadcast live and people know there is a team that is trying hard to come up the ladder.For now, though, Odisha have earned the right to celebrate their biggest achievement in a while. We havent planned a party yet, Samantray said, but we will have something for sure before we start for Trivandrum. Cheap Chris Campbell Jersey . - Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is not a fan of his teams use of the wildcat formation, saying "it makes you look like a high school offence. Cheap Mason Cole Jersey . The 20-year-old Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. 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Cheap Josh Rosen Jersey .Y. - New York City has been selected to host the NBA All-Star weekend in 2015, with the game played at Madison Square Garden and the slam dunk contest and other skills events held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Russian swimmer Yulia Efimova tried to get the final word Saturday in her simmering feud with Lilly King, chastising the American for turning the Olympics into a war.It was like a nightmare, Efimova told USA Today Sports on Saturday night. This completion [of the program] is a relief because I love racing, but this was more like a war. It was awful. She is young, but she should understand more.King, 19, had singled out Efimova for criticism over her doping past ahead of their 100-meter breaststroke matchup earlier this week, in which King won the gold medal and Efimova took silver.The Russian Olympic team is under heavy scrutiny following a World Anti-Doping Agency report showing the breadth of state-sponsored doping in the country, and King said Efimova and all previously caught dopers should be barred from the Olympics.King said Saturday that she was glad she spoke up about the topic of doping.It was something that needed to be brought up, in my mind. I wasnt even planning on speaking out. It just kind of happened, King said, according to USA Today Sports. But Im glad I did, because it is something that needs to be noticed, and its something that needs to be dealt with, and I just happened to be the person that decided to come out, so Im super glad I did it.Efimova was suspended 16 months after she tested positive for a banned anabolic steroid in 2013. She wwas also provisionally suspended this year after testing positive for meldonium, but that ban was lifted following a WADA recommendation.dddddddddddd.She has maintained since her 2013 failed test that she did not know that a supplement she was taking contained a banned substance.The 24-year-old Efimova was repeatedly booed in the aquatic center at Rio. She told USA Today Sports that she found it unfair that Russians were singled out for criticism. She also said she may reconsider living and training in Southern California based on her reception.Efimova also said King never talked to her about the issue.[King] is young. She doesnt know sometimes how life is going on, Efimova said. I hope that she changes, changes her mind and everything.King, meanwhile, said she hopes to be an example to people who want to point out problems around them.I hope they look at me as someone they can look up to when they feel like they need to speak out against something that they feel is wrong, King said.Efimova beat King in their breaststroke segment of Saturdays 4x100-meter medley relay, but King and fellow Americans Kathleen Baker, Dana Vollmer and Simone Manuel took the gold medal, the United States 1,000th all time. The Russian team finished sixth. Wholesale NFL Womens Jerseys China Womens NFL Jerseys Nike NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys Outlet Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale NFL White Jerseys Discount Jerseys ' ' '