Jaskirat, Sumit lead M’laya’s fightback

Shillong, Jan 25: Superb batting on Saturday by Jaskirat Singh Sachdeva and guest professional Sumit Kumar ensured that Meghalaya were able to take their Ranji Trophy 2024-25 Elite Group A match against Odisha into a fourth and final day.
Jaskirat was unbeaten and unbowed on 53 from 109 deliveries (6x4s) at stumps at the MCA Ground here, with Wanlambok Nongkhlaw not out on 19 from 49, while Sumit was dismissed an hour before the end of play for 51 from 114 (6x4s). Meghalaya were poised on 221/6 in their second innings, still 129 runs away from making the visitors bat again.
The morning began with Odisha resuming their first innings on 523/7 and they batted just 3.2 more overs before declaring on 548/7 after waiting for Rajesh Dhuper to get his century (102 not out from 95). That meant that Odisha held a first innings lead of 350 over Meghalaya (out for 198 on the first day), who would go on to face an uphill task in their second innings.
It was indeed a difficult start as three of the top batters were back in the dugout with the score reading 31. The slide was halted by a 51-run partnership between Nishanta Chakraborty (38 from 68, 5x4s) and guest professional Anirudh B (20). The pair were both dismissed by Odisha pace bowler Sunil Kumar Roul (3/48), who was the most successful bowler of the day.
Odisha must have been sniffing a chance to wrap up the match today itself but Jaskirat and Sumit, who made 43 and 40 in the first innings, batted excellently together to put on 89 for the sixth wicket. That ensured that Meghalaya only lost one further wicket in the day – Sumit could not resist a short ball and tried to hook but he top-edged it and wicketkeeper Aashirwad Swain, who had an excellent day with the gloves, ran a great distance towards fine leg before making a diving catch.
Odisha are still favourites but will have to get through the resistance of Jaskirat and Wanlambok, as well as the tail-enders, to make victory happen on the fourth day on Sunday.