SHILLONG:
Jaskirat Singh Sachdeva struck a wonderful 86 not out from 89 balls for Meghalaya but the team still lost their final match of the U-25 Men State A Trophy by 41 runs to Kerala in Mohali on Thursday.
This was certainly Meghalaya’s best performance of a tournament in which they were up against some of the top states in the country. Kerala finished fourth in Group D, making Thursday’s effort by Meghalaya all the more appreciable.
After winning the toss and choosing to field, Meghalaya bowled out Kerala for 270 in 48.3 overs, with PM Santhosh (3/41) and Lokesh Turaha (3/45) the most successful of the bowlers. Manish Sharma also took 2/38 and Agreas Chamcham Sangma 1/52 and Jaskirat 1/68.
The last four Kerala wickets fell within just seven deliveries as Meghalaya ensured that their opponents did not reach 300.
All the Meghalaya batters got among the runs in the chase but the team were always a little behind on the required run rate.
They had reached the 150-run mark by the 40th over when Jaskirat and Md Asif Khan, who made a run-a-ball 24, started to up the tempo but it was not enough. Jaskirat finished unbeaten on 86, an innings that included eight fours and two sixes. Josiah Momin (28) and Kevin Christopher (20) were also notable contributors further up the order.