Shillong, Feb 11: Meghalaya seized victory from the jaws of defeat in a sensational one-wicket win over Arunachal Pradesh in the U-23 Women’s One-Day Trophy in Cuttack today.
Arunachal won the toss and batted first and were restricted to 160/9 in their allotted 50 overs but Meghalaya squeezed through to make 161/9 in 45.2 overs.
Riticia Nongbet put in another excellent bowling performance, taking 3/14 in 10 overs. Deiphibapynshngain L Mawnai also claimed three wickets, finishing with figures of 3/34, while Luiza Tamang took 2/42, which included the key wicket of Arunachal top scorer Megha Sharma, who made 53.
The chase started a little badly with Meghalaya losing their first wicket off the very first ball of their innings, but Neha Hajong (15) and Shruti Kumari (16) put on 54 for the third wicket thanks to a helpful number of extras.
A string of wickets then left Meghalaya struggling on 76/6 before Mawnai (18) and Solina Jaba (25) steadied the ship.
Meghalaya then inched even closer towards the target thanks to 21 from Ajima Sangma. However, Sangma was dismissed off the first ball of the 46th over, leaving Meghalaya one run to get with one wicket in hand. Number 11 Avril Syiem then walked to the crease and scored off the first delivery she faced to give Meghalaya a fantastic win to remember.
(Meghalaya Cricket Association file photo)
