Meghalaya defeat Mizoram by 25 runs
Shillong: Meghalaya’s Abhay Negi created history in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Mumbai on Sunday.
He registered fastest fifty in the tournament off just 14 balls with two fours and six sixes, breaking Robin Uthappa’s earlier record for the fastest fifty.
In the process Negi also went on to record joint fifth-fastest half-century in a T20 match.
Born in Uttarakhand, the 27-year-old is a fast bowling alrounder and is a right hand batsman. He has been playing for Meghalaya for two seasons now.
More than the record, the fast bowling all-rounder is happy to contribute with runs for his team while playing against Mizoram.
“I never thought of achieving any record, my objective and focus was to score runs for my team so that we could win today. I was playing freely and suddenly I heared my teammates cheering when I came to know that I scored a fifty. I wasn’t even aware of the record. It was afterwards my friends and teammates said that I scored the fastest fifty in the tournament.” Negi told The Shillong Times.
“I am feeling very happy for this achievement of mine it is a great honour to see my names among the greats of the game who have played for their respective national teams and I would like to specially thank Naba Bhattacharjee, for his immense support and encouragement, for him it had all been possible.” Added Negi
Die-hard fan of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Abhay Negi said that he loves playing attacking cricket and looks to score freelily as like his idol.
“I don’t think about pressure when I am batting for my team. I just concentrate on the ways of scoring runs. Yes, I enjoy playing shots.” explained Negi.
He also added that he is working very hard on his game and look to churn out more such extraordinary performances for his team in the coming days.
Riding on his brilliance, Meghalaya defeat Mizoram by 25 runs in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Mumbai.
Put in to bat first, Meghalaya were 149/4 in 17 overs when Negi, who is primarily a bowler, came to the crease and proceeded to wallop the bowlers.
He reached 50 off just 14 deliveries, only two more deliveries than Yuvraj Singh took to set the record in his famous knock against England in 2007.
Negi hit two fours and six sixes in his unbeaten innings (also his top score in any format), which propelled Meghalaya to 207/4 in their 20 overs, with 58 runs coming in the last three overs.
Earlier, guest-professional Ravi Teja was the player who punished Mizoram the most, with a solid 53 not out in 31 deliveries (five fours, two sixes).
Mizoram had a mountain to climb but gave Meghalaya something to worry about as Taruwar Kohli hit 90 at the top of the order. He was partnered well by Pawan Prasad (72 not out), but Mizoram fell short of the target, finishing on 182/2.
Meghalaya used eight different bowlers on Sunday, with Raj Biswa (1/29) and Negi (1/43) the two wicket-takers.