SHILLONG:
Meghalaya lost their 5th and final plate group Ranji Trophy match against Manipur by 8 wickets at the MCA Ground, Polo, Shillong, on January 12.
The Manipur team completely dominated the match from the very start having bowled out Meghalaya for 157 runs and 91 runs in the first and second innings respectively.
In response, the visitors scored 220 runs in the first innings, taking a lead of 63 runs, and bundling out Meghalaya for 91 runs—thereby allowing Meghalaya to set a very low target of 28 runs.
Manipur just lost 2 wickers, (Karnajit Y and Priyojit K) on the third day to chase the set target in just 9 overs, as Abhishek and Sanvert both picking up 1 wicket each.
In the first innings, the Manipuri batters responded well by scoring 220 against the hosts total of 157, with P Prafullomani scoring 50, Langlonyamba M and Ronald M scoring 48 and 43 respectively.
Meghalaya’s second innings was a dismal show in the batting department, with none of the top batters managing a good score to pull back the match in their favour. While star batsman Punit Bisht was picked for 0, Kishan Lyndoh (29), Swarajeet Das (7), Tarique Siddique (14) too could not break through the tight Manipur bowling line up.
Meghalaya had earlier won 4 games in succession against Bihar, Sikkim, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh in a bid to qualify for Elite group in the Ranji Trophy.