Shillong, Nov 29: An all-round performance from guest/professional Gurinder Singh has put Meghalaya on the cusp of victory against Manipur in their Ranji Trophy plate group match in Kolkata today.
Resuming play on the second day on 82/1 in response to Manipur’s 211, Meghalaya were eventually dismissed for 326 in their first innings, with a lead of 115.
Meghalaya opener Raj Biswa was on 47 not out at the end of the first day’s play and went on to make 87 before losing his wicket a little short of what would have been his second century of the tournament.
Biswa had put on 102 runs for the third wicket with guest/professional Punit Bisht, who was the state’s top scorer with 92, which was made off just 88 deliveries. Further down the order Gurinder chipped in with 56 to take Meghalaya past the 300-run mark.
Pace bowler Abhay Negi (2/16) then claimed the first two Manipur wickets, but Gurinder then swept through the middle order, taking 5/21. Aditya Singhania claimed the other wicket (1/38) before stumps were called with Manipur on 125/8, a lead of just 10 runs.
U-19 COOCH BEHAR TROPHY
Meanwhile, in the U-19 Cooch Behar Trophy plate group, Meghalaya registered a handsome eight-wicket victory over Puducherry on the fourth and final day in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh.
Puducherry were almost certainly hoping for a draw and resumed their second innings on 67/1 today. They were still some considerable distance from Meghalaya, who made 325 in their first innings in response to Puducherry’s first innings total of 188.
Puducherry’s Sugadev and Arbaazuddin put on another 43 runs together this morning before the latter was dismissed with his team on 110 runs.
Meghalaya then stormed through those remaining in the batting lineup, seizing the next eight wickets for just 40 runs as Puducherry were skittled for 150.
That left Meghalaya with just 14 runs for victory, which they accomplished in just 2.5 overs, with Ankit Kumar Singh hitting 12 of those runs, all in boundaries.
(File photo of the Meghalaya Ranji Trophy team contributed by the Meghalaya Cricket Association)
