Shillong, Nov 23: Meghalaya defeated Manipur by 128 runs in their first match of the U-19 Cooch Behar Trophy in Kolkata today.
Manipur won the toss on the first day yesterday and opted to field first and Meghalaya were dismissed for 197 in 49.1 overs.
Meghalaya were in real trouble at 59/6, but a 73-run partnership by Joydeepan Deb (62) and Sudhir Sahani (43) got the team to 132/7. A helpful 35 off just 26 deliveries by Aryan Borah then got Meghalaya to 197.
In Manipur’s first innings Borah returned with the ball to claim a hat-trick, finishing with figures of 4/15 in 6.5 overs as Manipur were dismissed for just 83 in 24.5 overs, giving Meghalaya a lead of 114. Aaron Nongrum (2/12), Divyansh Rajput (1/0), Sahani (1/15) and Abhishek Kumar (1/23) were Meghalaya’s other wicket-takers.
Meghalaya, however, found it tough going with the bat as well in the second innings, being bowled out for just 64. Here Sahani top-scored with 20 off 22 deliveries, with Swastic Chettri (16) the only other batsman to reach double figures.
Manipur were set a target of 179 to win the match, but a sensational six wickets for just nine runs by Kumar (match figures of 7/32) saw them dismissed for 50. Borah took another three wickets in the second innings (match figures of 7/24), while there was also a further wicket for Sahani (1/14).
(Photo contributed by the Meghalaya Cricket Association. Left to right – Abhishek Kumar, Aryan Borah, Joydeepan Deb)
