SHILLONG:
Pushkar Raj Singh hit a century for Meghalaya on the first day of their U-19 men’s Cooch Behar Trophy semifinal against Arunachal Pradesh in Anand, Gujarat, today.
Batting first after winning the toss, Meghalaya posted 220 all out in their first innings and then had Arunachal on 53/1 by stumps, trailing by 169 runs.
Anand has been playing host to all of Arunachal’s matches in the tournament this season. Meghalaya had already beaten Arunachal at the same venue during the round robin stage.
Pushkar played a solid knock of 111 from 207 deliveries, which included 17 fours. In fact, Anand has treated him well, with the batter having hit 79 in their round robin match against the same opponents earlier this month.
With his ton today and the 42 by captain Dipankar Baruah, Meghalaya could have perhaps hoped for a 300-plus total but Arunachal’s bowlers, especially Harsh Sharma (5/66), ensured that that was not to be.
Dipankar’s innings contained 10 fours, with all but 2 runs coming in boundaries. Apart from their 62-run partnership for the third wicket, Meghalaya struggled with the bat, though Avinash Rai (12) and Kishlay Vishlux (15) tried to give Pushkar company, and they lost their last four wickets for just 14 runs.
The hosts then weathered the Meghalaya attack for 11.2 overs before they lost opener Madhur (22) the next delivery off the bowling of Banialam Mylliemngap (1/10 in 3 overs). Meghalaya will have to make quick inroads tomorrow morning and dismissing Arunachal for less than 150 will be their target.