By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 11: Md. Nafees Siddique took a brilliant 6/39 in his very first one day match at the national level as Meghalaya crushed Manipur by 111 runs in their Plate Group fixture of the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Jaipur today.
“It was my debut, but I didn’t feel any pressure. Our team atmosphere is such that I was always at ease,” said Nafees while speaking to The Shillong Times.
Earlier, skipper Punit Bisht and opener Chirag Khurana dominated the batting for Meghalaya, scoring 85 and 50 respectively in a total of 258/7.
Manipur had won the toss and opted to field.
Two early wickets were lost in the first six overs before Khurana and Ram Gurung (36) made 86 for the third wicket.
“I think the credit of today’s win goes to our batters, especially Chirag as he steadied our innings when we lost early wickets. The pitch today at the Jaipuria Vidhyalaya Ground suited the bowling, especially in the morning when there was moisture,” said Nafees, who is fondly called ‘Commando’ by his teammates.
Gurung was the first to go, followed by Khurana, but Bisht carved out a fine 85 from 71 deliveries in an innings that included 11 hits to the boundary.
“Chirag and Ram batted sensibly in tough conditions, before Punit took off and ensured we crossed the 250-run mark,” Nafees continued.
The captain was dismissed off the first ball of the 46th over but Meghalaya added a further 46 runs by the 50th, thanks to a run-a-ball unbeaten 28 by Ravi Teja.
Nafees made a dream debut, taking his first wicket in the very first over, while Dippu (1/14) claimed his only wicket of the day also in his first over.
Nafees then followed with another three before Johnson (34) was caught and bowled by Teja (1/27). Siddique got his fifth by dismissing Manipur’s lead scorer Kishan for 50, before adding another to finish with figures of 6/39 in 10 overs.
“I am happy that I was able to claim 6 wickets on my debut. However, it felt as if the wickets were taken by the entire team collectively. Everyone in the team backed me, including the support staff,” Nafees added.
Altogether Meghalaya used nine bowlers, with the others among the wickets being Aryan Bora (1/25) and Lerry Sangma, thereby sealing Meghalaya’s massive victory.