Meghalaya go down to Puducherry

SHILLONG: Meghalaya’s Ranji Trophy team went down to Puducherry by five wickets in an extremely low-scoring contest in Mangaldai, Assam, on Sunday. Guest-professional Punit Bisht top-scored with 43, which was nearly two-thirds of Meghalaya’s total runs. He was the only player to get into double figures. Guest-professional Sanjay Yadav returned figures of 8/31, while Abhay Negi (1/9) and Aditya Singhania (1/19) chipped in with one apiece. Trailing by 15 runs, Meghalaya couldn’t make their seconds innings count either and they were all out for 63, presenting Puducherry with a target of 49 to win, which they accomplished for the loss of five wickets. Negi took 3/15 and Yadav 2/31. Meanwhile, in the U-23 Col CK Nayudu Trophy, Meghalaya posted a healthy 287/6 in 92 overs on the first day against Mizoram in Vizag. Meghalaya won the toss and chose to bat, with Yogesh Tiwari topping with an innings of 82. Rohit Shah (72), Kishan (47) and Bonkam Marak (44) were some of the other top contributors of runs. Finally, in the U-19 Cooch Behar Trophy, Meghalaya were 34 without loss at stumps on the second day, chasing Bihar’s first innings score of 258 all out in Tezpur.