Shillong, Dec 12: Meghalaya continued their winning streak in the Plate Group of the Vijay Hazare Trophy with victory by 19 runs over Mizoram in Jaipur today.
This was the state’s fourth successive victory in the tournament this season and was brought about largely thanks to guest professional Punit Bisht (pictured), who dominated with an innings of 142 after Meghalaya were made to bat first when Mizoram won the toss.
Meghalaya were in real trouble at one stage, having been reduced to 65/5 inside 19 overs but Bisht and fellow guest professional Ravi Teja (42) steered the side through the middle overs, eventually putting on 138 for the sixth wicket.
Other batters to get into double figures were Kishan Lyngdoh (20) and Lerry Sangma (11) but Meghalaya have Bisht to thank for getting them to 237 all out. In all, the wicketkeeper-batter hit 20 fours and one six behind square on the leg side off 129 deliveries.
This was Meghalaya’s smallest first innings total in the four matches but they were able to successfully defend it thanks to disciplined bowling and fielding that saw them give away only 10 extras in the 50 overs as Mizoram were restricted to 218/7.
Uday Kaul proved dangerous with an innings of 109 but Meghalaya worked around him to dismiss the other Mizoram batters at regular intervals.
Ram Gurung was the most successful bowler, with figures of 2/26, while Akash Kumar Chaudhary (2/57), Aryan Bora (1/34) and Chirag Khurana (1/35) were also among the wickets.
Meghalaya will now get a day’s rest before going up against Tripura, the top team in the group, on Tuesday.
(Meghalaya Cricket Association photo)
