By Our Reporter
Shillong, Oct 12: In a double-header of cricket action, Meghalaya faced tough fortunes as the Women’s U-19 team suffered a defeat to Manipur by seven wickets in the One Day Trophy match held in Surat, while the U-19 Men’s side had a crushing 346-run loss to Bengal in their opening match of the Vinoo Mankad Trophy season, which took place in Vijayawada.
In the Women’s U-19 encounter, in what marked their third match of the tournament, Manipur won the toss and elected to put Meghalaya to bat. The Meghalayan team faced a tough challenge as they were eventually bowled out for a mere 97 runs in 36.4 overs.
The standout performance came from Janicka R Marak, who managed a commendable 46 runs from 78 deliveries. Kambesa A Sangma also showed some resilience with the bat, contributing 21 runs from 48 balls while batting at the eighth position.
Meghalaya’s innings saw a brief collapse, slipping from 43/2 to 49/6. Nevertheless, Janicka and Kambesa managed to steady the ship with a 48-run partnership, guiding their team to a total of 97/6. However, the optimism was short-lived, as they lost their last four wickets without adding any more runs to the scoreboard.
In the chase, Meghalaya employed nine bowlers in short spells to disrupt the Manipur batters, but the latter reached their target of 98 runs with three wickets down in 27.2 overs. Fennysha Nongrum and Jayshree Singh executed a couple of run-outs, while Natasha Rabha claimed one wicket (1/17) for Meghalaya.
Meghalaya’s next challenge is against Tamil Nadu, scheduled for Saturday.
In another cricketing battleground, Vijayawada witnessed Meghalaya’s inaugural match in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy, which proved to be a sobering experience. Bengal, after winning the toss, posted a commanding total of 402/3 in their allotted 50 overs.
They then went on to dismantle the Meghalaya batting lineup, dismissing them for a paltry 56 runs in just 35.2 overs, resulting in a crushing 346-run victory.
It was a day to forget for Meghalaya as both their batting and bowling units struggled. Three of the bowlers did manage to pick up wickets: Kshtij Singhania (1/36), Angkit Tamang (1/52), and Da-u-la-biang Shangpliang (1/59). Regrettably, only one batsman reached double figures – opener Shubham Rasaily, who contributed 19 runs.