SHILLONG, March 25: An excellent bowling performance from Meghalaya on the morning of the final day saw them defeat Sikkim by 27 runs in their Col CK Nayudu Trophy plate group match in Bhubaneshwar on Friday.
Sudhir Sahani added two scalps of tailenders to finish with figures of 5/59, while Abhishek Kumar bagged three today (3/44), including the wickets of overnight batters Ankur (65) and Jeetendra (26).
Sahani finished with match figures of 7/105 and Kumar 8/97.
The U-25 match was delicately poised going into the final day, with Sikkim requiring 59 runs and Meghalaya needing five wickets to win. In the end, only 13.2 overs, or around one hour, was required for the match to be wrapped up.
It took less than five overs for Meghalaya to strike, with Md Asif Khan taking the catch of Sikkim’s Ankur off Kumar’s bowling. It was a crucial wicket as Ankur looked determined to take his side to victory.
Sikkim had added 15 runs to their overnight score of 176/5 before Ankur fell but scored only another 16 before they were bundled out for 207 as Meghalaya demolished the tail.
Apart from the bowling of Sahani and Kumar, the other positives for Meghalaya were the batting performances of Khan (83) in the first innings and Arien Bonchang Sangma (83) and Joydeepan Deb (70) in the second. Busy as the wicketkeeper as well, Arien took five catches in the match.
Meghalaya will next take on Nagaland from 29 March.
