SHILLONG:
Meghalaya displayed exemplary performance with both bat and ball to win their third plate group Ranji Trophy match against Bihar by 4 wickets at the MCA Cricket Ground, Polo, Shillong, on December 29.
After trailing by 170 runs on the second day, Meghalaya bowlers bounced back on the third day to dismantle Bihar batting line up for mere 99 runs, allowing them to set a target of 197, which the hosts managed to chase in 45 overs after losing 6 wickets.
For Meghalaya, Swarajeet Das was a star performer with the bat scoring 81 runs, assisted by Punit Bisht who scored 34, and R B Bishnoi Jr (26) who stayed till the end to finish the match in style.
In the bowling department, Akash Kumar and Abhishek once again proved to be top bowlers for Meghalaya, picking up 4 wickets each at regular intervals, and restricting the visitors at 99.
After holding Bihar for 73/3 on the second day, Abhishek picked up Shivam S Kumar in 24.3 over, followed by Bipin Saurabh in the 26.1 over and S Gani in the 30.3 0ver.
The rest of the damage was done by Akash Kumar who picked up Ashutosh Aman, A Raj, and Abhijeet in the following overs.
The second innings for Bihar was a dismal show with their star batters falling to score big against the tight Meghalaya bowling, who had already defeated Mizoram and Sikkim with ease.
With this win, Meghalaya has won all of its 3 matches in this year’s Ranji Trophy, which is a major achievement for Meghalaya cricket, and proves the emergence of a new Cricketing giant from the North East.