A solid fight took Meghalaya to within touching distance of victory but they were beaten by Railways by 32 runs in their last Men’s U-23 State A Trophy, a domestic one day tournament organised by the BCCI.
The match took place yesterday in Chandigarh, the venue for all of Meghalaya’s matches. Unfortunately, the team went winless throughout, losing to Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Bengal and lastly Railways.
After winning the toss, Meghalaya decided to field first and were able to dismiss Railways for 219 in 47.2 overs. This was the first time that Meghalaya had managed to bowl out their opponents.
Aryan Borah was the star with his spin bowling, taking 3/30 in 7.2 overs. All the other five bowlers used were also among the wickets, with Badonnam J Mylliemngap (2/36 in 10 overs) and Manish Sharma (2/48 in 10) claiming a brace each, while PM Santhosh (1/19 in 5), Sudhir Sahani (1/30 in 7) and Agreas Chamcham Sangma (1/54 in 8) bagging one apiece.
The chase began well for Meghalaya, with Sachin Kumar (41 from 86 deliveries) and Nishanta Chakraborty (46 from 25) making 58 for the first wicket in just 9.2 overs. This was led by the big hits of Nishanta, who struck six fours and two sixes.
Several other batters down the order got going before getting dismissed and Meghalaya were reduced to 157/7 with 57 balls to get the remaining 63 required for victory.
That they got close was thanks to Manish and Sudhir, who made 22 for the eighth wicket. Manish was eventually out for 27 from 31 deliveries and the other two tail-enders were not able to stick around long enough, leaving Sudhir unbeaten on 16 from 13 as Meghalaya were all out for 187 in 44.5 overs.
