Shillong, Dec 16: Meghalaya rose above the challenge of a first innings deficit to record a two-wicket victory over Mizoram in their first Ranji Trophy match of the season in Nadiad, Gujarat, on Friday.
Set a challenging target of 298 to win, Meghalaya were 245/8 when Meghalaya vice-captain Dippu Ch Sangma and Akash Choudhary made 55 for the ninth wicket to take the team to victory.
Dippu has a first class century to his name against Mizoram but has not had many big scores of late. He was dismissed for 1 in the first innings but came good when it mattered most on Friday, finishing on 36 not out. Akash, meanwhile, showed that he can be handy with the bat, as he contributed an unbeaten 18.
Meghalaya began play on the fourth and final day in the plate group match on 75/3, requiring 223 more to win.
Having come to the crease just before stumps on Thursday, Meghalaya skipper Punit Bisht and Swarajeet Das resumed their fourth wicket partnership, which in the end yielded 90 runs. Both batters, as it happened, made 53 each.
Mizoram’s Avinash Yadav took 6/39 in Meghalaya’s first innings and proved to be the most dangerous once again as he claimed 5/103.
Yadav was used almost continuously, bowling exactly 50 overs out of 105.4, but in the second innings the Meghalaya batters approached him more cautiously.
Following the departures of the half-centurions, Rajesh Bishnoi (27), Bamanbha Shangpliang (19) and Lerry Sangma (23) all chipped in with useful runs.
However, there was concern when both Shangpliang and Lerry were dismissed within four deliveries of each other, which left Meghalaya needing 53 runs from their lower order batters.
That concern faded, however, as Dippu and Akash settled in, though they had to keep a steady nerve, given that there was only the Number 11 batter to come, until Dippu struck a boundary to win the game.
The Meghalaya team will now return home for their second Ranji match, which will be against Sikkim in Shillong from December 20.
