SHILLONG: Unable to break their finals jinx, the Meghalaya Cricket Association team once again choked in the final of the BCCI A&A Tournament, U-19 category, losing to Manipur by five wickets.
Meghalaya had come through the group stage unbeaten, registering emphatic victories against all their opponents, even eventual champions Manipur.
Nerves took their toll in the final of the tournament for associate and affiliate state teams, played in Dhanbad, Jharkhand, on Saturday.
On earlier occasions, finals have proved to be the nemesis of Meghalaya in U-19 and U-22 categories.
After winning the toss, Meghalaya made a mess of their batting effort, with four run outs in a meagre total of 120 all out.
The boys only batted for 37.4 of their 50 overs. It was their lowest score in the tournament.
Peter Anglican top-scored with 31 runs.
The other team from the North East polished off the required runs in just over half of their allotted overs (26.4).
They lost five wickets in the process.
V Saini claimed four wickets for 22 runs in a heartbreaking first loss in the competition, one that was as costly as it was irreversible.
Valuable lessons will have been learned by the Meghalaya boys.
They performed incredibly well during the group stage, even defeating a team like Bihar, but were unable to bring their best game in the title match.
Nevertheless, they can be proud of their overall performance, with the players contributing as a group.