Shillong, Nov 9: Jammu and Kashmir required an hour on the morning of the third day to secure victory by 7 wickets against Meghalaya in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group A match at the MCA Ground in Polo here yesterday.
Resuming on 16/1 chasing 75 for victory, J&K lost two wickets to Meghalaya fast bowler Akash Kumar Choudhary (2/36) before bringing up victory.
Akash had Ahmad Omar Banday out caught at mid-off before Roshan Warbah caught Abdul Samad, who was going for a big shot a ball after hitting an enormous six.
Dippu Sangma (1/12) had taken the wicket that fell yesterday. The visitors’ Auqib Nabi was named Player of the Match after taking 10 wickets with his accurate pace bowling.
Although a fourth consecutive defeat, this match marked another step up for the Meghalaya team, who are playing against some of the best teams in the country in Elite Group A.
To recap, Meghalaya were made to bat first after losing the toss on the opening day and were all out for 73 in tricky conditions. They then restricted J&K to under 200 – 194 to be exact – and then batted well to reach 195 in their second innings.
Left-arm spinner Aryan Borah scalped 5/42 in J&K’s first innings, his first five-wicket haul against Elite level opposition in first-class cricket, while Arpit Bhatewara top-scored in Meghalaya’s second innings with 74 in his second Ranji match.
Meghalaya will now travel to Vadodara to play Baroda from 13th November.
(Meghalaya Cricket Association photo. Jammu & Kashmir’s Abdul Samad hits a six)
