Uttarakhand defeated Meghalaya by seven wickets in their first match of the U-25 Men State A Tournament, a BCCI one day competition, in Mohali today.
Made to bat first after losing the toss, Meghalaya were all out for 177, which Uttarakhand chased down for the loss of three wickets in 39.5 overs.
Arien Bonchang Sangma made a terrific personal start to the tournament, with the Meghalaya captain hitting a classy 50 from 62 balls (9x4s).
With the team being in a bit of bother at 28/3, he and Jaskirat Singh (26) made 46 for the fourth wicket. Jaskirat and Md Ashif Khan (32) then combined to add another 48 to take Meghalaya to 122/5 but a quick spell of wickets further reduced the team to 135/8.
That is when Bipin Kumar Ray (20 not out) and Manish Sharma (14) fought a rearguard battle to get Meghalaya to 177 all out, a total that gave the bowlers something to defend.
Lokesh Turaha (1/35) then struck early in the chase and Sudhir Sahani (2/41) claimed two more scalps but Uttarakhand were able to rely on Akhil Singh Rawat, who carried his bat in an innings of 102 not out to win the match with more than 10 overs to spare.
Meghalaya will next be in action tomorrow against Himachal Pradesh.
