Shillong, Oct 15: Kevin Christopher struck a half-century and Abhishek Kumar took four wickets but Meghalaya still lost to Punjab by an innings and 129 runs in their first match of the U-23 men’s Col CK Nayudu Trophy 2024-25.
The match began on Sunday with Meghalaya winning the toss against hosts Punjab and opting to field first.
Abhishek opened the bowling and claimed 4/71 in 23.2 overs as Punjab were all out for 313. All five Meghalaya bowlers actually took wickets, with Manish Sharma bagging 3/72 in 31 overs, PM Santhosh 1/46 in 12, Purav Agarwal 1/46 in 11 and Navin Kr Ray 1/60 in 16.
Meghalaya did not have a good time in their first innings and were bundled out for 77, with Navin’s 19 being the top score. However, after being made to follow-on, Kevin went on to play a delightful knock, hitting 52 from 69 balls, including 6 fours and 3 sixes. His team, though, were still all out for only 107, giving Punjab victory with two days to spare.
Meghalaya will next face Andhra Pradesh from 20th October.