Meghalaya have it all to do after they ended the second day of their Ranji Trophy match against Gujarat on 99/6, some 456 runs behind their opponents’ first innings score of 555/8 declared.
The morning began with Gujarat resuming on 303/3 in Rajkot in the Elite Group A match. They scored another 252 runs before declaring. Guest professional Chirag Khurana added another two wickets to his tally to finish the innings with figures of 5/151, while Dippu Sangma (1/37) claimed the wicket of the Gujarat top scorer, BH Merai, for 223 following which the team declared. Kilco Marak (1/78) was the other bowler who bagged a wicket for Meghalaya.
Meghalaya rearranged their batting line-up and tried out the second guest professional Ravi Teja as an opener but it was not a successful experiment as he was out for 8. Bamanbha Shangpliang, making his debut in first-class cricket, was out for the same number of runs after coming in at number three.
The only Meghalaya batter to get into double figures so far has been the third guest professional, Punit Bisht. He has looked very comfortable at the crease so far in his innings of 54 not out off 77 deliveries, which has included eight fours and a six.
Meghalaya will need him to continue to flow tomorrow as well as have tail-enders who can keep him company out in the middle for an extended period of time.
