Gaurav Narleng fell just short of a well-deserved century but Meghalaya put on a superb display of batting against Delhi on the first day of their U-19 men’s Cooch Behar Trophy Elite Group A match at the MCA Ground in Polo here today.
Gaurav was out for 95 in a patient and resilient innings lasting 171 deliveries, which consisted of 19 fours after Meghalaya won the toss and chose to bat first under sunny skies. At stumps the hosts were 239/7 after 98 overs.
Meghalaya were in a spot of bother at 44/4 and 75/5 but the sixth wicket partnership between Gaurav and Kshitij Singhania (52 not out) put the innings back on track. Together the pair scored 86 runs together before Gaurav fell to the bowling of Dhanya Nakra (1/19).
Kshitij, who has hit seven fours so far, used up 202 balls for his unbeaten half-century but there was no rush and Meghalaya needed him to remain at the crease more than just hitting quick runs. At close of play he was involved in an unbroken 54-run eighth wicket partnership with Angkit Tamang (22 not out).
Delhi quick bowler Udhav Mohan was the most successful on the day, taking 3/72.
This is Meghalaya’s third match of the season; they lost the previous two by heavy margins to Chandigarh and Odisha, so today’s effort was a hugely positive one. Delhi, on the other hand, had won one and lost one of their prior U-19 multi-day matches.
In the morning, before the start of the game, the Meghalaya Cricket Association felicitated the match officials and members of the visiting team with individual mementos. It was a ‘coming home’ of sorts for the Delhi coach, Yogesh Nagar, who had provided excellent service to Meghalaya as a guest professional player in 2018-19 and he was warmly welcomed back by MCA Honorary Secretary Gideon Kharkongor.
