Meghalaya lost their second Group A match of the 1st North East Inter State Friendship Tournament by six wickets to Manipur in Nagaland today.
Meghalaya were dismissed for 178 in 48.3 overs and Manipur wrapped up a supreme all-round performance by scoring 182/4 in 38.1 overs.
Both teams had already qualified for the semifinals but Manipur went through as the top team from Group A, with Meghalaya second.
Batting first, Meghalaya got off to a good start with Kishan Lyngdoh and Raj Biswa making 47 for the first wicket before the former was caught for 37. Arien Bonchang Sangma took on the mantle and played a great knock.
Sangma brought up his half-century off 88 deliveries with Meghalaya on 127/4 but was unfortunately bowled for 55.
The other batters were unable to mount much of a resistance and Meghalaya were all out for a sub-par 178.
Akash K Choudhary picked up a wicket in only his second over thanks to a sharp catch by Swarajeet Das inside the circle to put Manipur on 22/1 but they regrouped and the second wicket pair put on 53 runs before Sanvert Kurkalang trapped Longjam M lbw.
A series of wickets at this point could have turned the game in favour of Meghalaya but Manipur battled once again and reached 100 in under 19 overs without further loss.
A couple more wickets did fall, though – Arbin Singh had another Manipur batter caught in the 24th over and Das smashed the stumps of Langlonyamba (50) with Manipur just 9 runs away from victory.
