Shillong, Dec 11: Meghalaya required around 90 minutes to remove the remaining four Nagaland batters and win their U-19 men’s Cooch Behar Trophy 2025-26 plate group match by a convincing 109 runs on the morning of the fourth and final day at the MCA Ground here.
Resuming on 208/6 in search of 375 to win, Nagaland were all out for 265, with Meghalaya captain Angkit Tamang taking a five-for (5/45). To recap, Meghalaya had made 312 in their first innings before dismissing Nagaland for 165. The hosts were then out for 227 in their second innings yesterday.
Angkit took three wickets today, with the other falling to Mewankitbok Kharpuri (2/71). Apandanka Marak (2/33) and Gaurav Jyoti Thakuria (1/43) were wicket-takers yesterday.
Praising the young Meghalayans for their second consecutive win was Meghalaya Cricket Association President Nababrata Bhattacharjee. He passed on his congratulations for a “sterling team performance in claiming a comprehensive outright victory” while also singling out Angkit, Sameer Choudhury (who took 6/40 in Nagaland’s first innings), Gaurav Narleng (who hit 127 in Meghalaya’s first innings) and Mewankitbok Kharpuri (who is third in the plate group by number of wickets – 24).
“A clinical all-round team performance reflects the commitment and high level of application by our youth category and is a promising development for the future of cricket in our state,” Bhattacharjee added.
Meghalaya have one more round robin match to go, which will be against Mizoram from 16 December. That match will take place in Anand, Gujarat.
Victory for Meghalaya today puts them in strong contention for a place in the final. Nagaland had won all three of their previous matches and are still in second place with 19 points to Meghalaya’s 18, while Manipur are first in the group with 24 points thanks to four wins in a row. Meghalaya’s only defeat so far was to Manipur last month.
Mizoram have lost the three games they have played to date (the fourth is still ongoing) and should not pose too much of a challenge for Meghalaya but the latter cannot take the match lightly. Nagaland’s last fixture, meanwhile, will be against unbeaten Manipur starting the same day. Victory alone will not guarantee that Meghalaya qualifies for the final as they will have to keep an eye on what happens between the other two contenders, making this an intense three-way fight.
