Shillong, Mar 1: Meghalaya ended their campaign in the Vijay Hazare Trophy with their fourth consecutive victory by overwhelming Manipur by 83 runs in Chennai.
With 16 points, Meghalaya came third in the plate group, behind Uttarakhand and Assam. There were eight teams in the group but each side only played five matches each. Meghalaya were not drawn against Assam but did lose to Uttarakhand.
Today Meghalaya won the toss and elected to bat first, amassing 303/8 in their 50 overs to which Manipur managed just 220 all out in 48.4 overs.
Although only one batsman – Abhay Negi (pictured left) – made a half-century, there were four players who got scores in the 40s, which propelled Meghalaya past the 300-mark.
Negi came to the crease at a tricky time for Meghalaya. The team had just lost guest-professionals Sanjay Yadav (pictured right) (46 off 44, 4x4s and 2x6s) and Ravi Teja (45 off 54, 4x4s) and were positioned on 206/6 in 41.1 overs. However, Negi and Dippu Sangma steadied the ship as Meghalaya hit another 97 runs in the last 8.5 overs. Negi finished unbeaten on 56 (4x4s, 4x6s), made from just 30 deliveries, while Dippu was out for 24 (2x4s, 1×6) off 19 balls.
Earlier, opener Rohit Shah struck six fours in a positive innings of 44 while Lerry Sangma made 43 (2x4s, 4x6s) as the No. 4 batsman.
Langyonlamba frustrated Meghalaya with 83, but the other Manipur cricketers proved less resilient. Yadav scalped 4/21, the best figures for any Meghalaya player in the Vijay Hazare Trophy this season. Akash Choudhary (2/31) and Dippu (2/39) both picked up a brace of wickets, while Teja also picked up one (1/16).
(Photos: Meghalaya Cricket Association)
