SHILLONG:
Apandanka Marak scalped another five-wicket haul – his third of the season – as his sensational U-16 boys’ Vijay Merchant Trophy campaign continued today against Manipur.
At stumps on the first day in Cuttack, Manipur were 233/9, leading by 154 runs after Meghalaya were shot out for just 79 in their first innings.
Apandanka took all of the last five wickets to fall, finishing the day with figures of 5/43. It was he who dismissed Manipur’s top scorer, Rain, for 94. Even before this match he was in the top three nationwide in terms of wickets, with 29 under his belt.
The other successful bowlers were Manthan Gupta (2/50), Gaurav Narleng (1/22) and Gaurav Jyoti Thakuria (1/64); the latter is fifth in the wicket-taking charts with 27 before today.
Earlier, Meghalaya won the toss and chose to bat first but found the going difficult.
Narleng’s entertaining innings of 39 from 43 deliveries saw him hit half of Meghalaya’s 12 fours and the team’s only six.
He provided hope of a recovery after Meghalaya were 11/2 but Manipur kept plugging away and never let any other batter settle.
The only other Meghalayan to get into double figures was Benedict Jones Makdoh, who hit 12 runs, all in fours, after coming in at No. 9.