Cooch Behar Trophy
By Our Reporter
Shillong, Nov 28: Meghalaya were all out for 178 in the first innings of their U-19 men’s Cooch Behar Trophy 2024-25 Elite Group A match against Baroda at the MCA Ground, Polo, here on Thursday.
Baroda, who have won all three of their matches this season so far, were then 55 without loss at stumps, trailing by 123.
Batting first after winning the toss, Meghalaya had to thank their tailenders for providing most of the runs. Fast bowlers Shavian Blah (52 from 57 balls) and Angkit Tamang (33 not out from 111) and No. 10 Ashish Kumar Lohar (25 from 35) were all major contributors to the total.Shavian has proven himself capable with the willow before and on Thursday the left-handed batter struck seven fours and the only six of the innings in a rapid knock.
Earlier, openers Shubham Rasaily and Manthan Dey saw off the first 10 overs of the day but the partnership was broken immediately after that and wickets continued to fall at regular intervals before Kshitij Singhania defied the visitors, though he ultimately fell for 22 from 48.
Baroda’s most successful bowler was Pavan Patel, who bowled more than one-third of all the overs in Meghalaya’s innings and finished with figures of 4/58 in 23 overs. There were still 16 overs remaining in the day that Baroda had to negotiate after dismissing the hosts and Nitya J Pandya (40 not out from 57) and Smit Rathva (13 not out from 39) managed to hold out until the end. Despite a spirited effort by Meghalaya’s tailenders, the hosts face an uphill battle in their Cooch Behar Trophy clash against an in-form Baroda side.
With the visitors already in a strong position at 55 without loss, trailing by just 123 runs, Meghalaya’s bowlers will need to deliver a stellar performance on Day 2 to keep their hopes alive in this Elite Group A contest.
The stage is set for an intriguing battle as the match unfolds at the MCA Ground.