Ranji Trophy | Plate Group - Puducherry, Meghalaya, Manipur pick up wins as Sikkim keep up their resilience on day 3
BCCI
Puducherry smashed Bihar by 10 wickets to kick off their Ranji Trophy campaign while Meghalaya also clinched an emphatic win against Nagaland. As Sikkim batted valiantly to hold off Goa after it posted a mammoth first innings total of 436, Manipur wrapped up a rather comfortable win against Mizoram.
Vikas Ranjan’s knock goes in vain as Puducherry seals the deal
Brief scores: Puducherry 300, 70/0 wins by 10 wickets against Bihar 173, 196
Starting the day with 6 wickets, Bihar had a rocky start losing two wickets without disturbing the scorecard. Wicketkeeper Vikash Ranjan held one end strong till the end as his gritty 85* off 172 balls with some support form Vivek Kumar (29) saw Bihar to a lead of 69 runs. Puducherry strolled to victory without losing a wicket as opener Paras Dogra scored almost a run a ball 42. Vinay Kumar, who joined the team this season from Karnataka, bagged 4 wickets in the second innings to dismantle the Bihar batting line up while Sagar Udeshi was adjudged as the man of the match for his 9 wickets in the match.
Yashpal Singh and Iqbal Abdulla hold the fort for Sikkim
Brief Scores:Â Sikkim 136, 331/8 lead by 31 runs against GOA - 436/6 d
It was a day of complete dominance of the Sikkim batters who went on to bat for 74 over to overturn their 246 runs deficit into a 31 run lead. Starting off with only 5 wickets in hand, Sikkim had a shaky start but recovered well with a 71 run stand between first innings half centurion Lee Yong Lepcha (29) and Yashpal Singh (84). After losing Lepcha, Yashpal and Iqbal Abdulla(99*) then stitched up a determined 151 run stand to wear out the Goa attack which was rendered helpless against the exquisite strokeplay of the north Indian batters. Abdulla now stand unbeaten, 1 run away from his maiden ton, with skipper Plazor Tamang (32*) looking to put up a fighting total for Goa to chase with only two wickets in hand.
Manipur cruise to victory on Day 3 courtesy Rex Singh’s 10 wicket haul
Brief Scores: Manipur 289, 69/4 wins by 6 wickets against Mizoram 65, 290
The day 3 of the encounter between two northeastern states in Kolkata saw only 8.5 overs bowled as Manipur cruised to victory. Having dismissed Mizoram for 290 in their second innings, Manipur started off the third day with only 33 runs to get and with 7 wickets in hand as they did so in under 9 overs losing only one wicket. Rex Singh of Manipur bagged the man of the match award for his 10 wickets in the match, including the 8 wickets which bundled out Mizoram for just 65 in their first innings.
Sanjay Yadav’s four wickets flatten Nagaland
Brief Scores: Meghalaya 285, 142 wins by 110 runs against Nagaland 136, 181
Having ended day 2 at 142, Meghalaya went into day 2 trying to defend their 291 runs and get 10 Nagaland wickets to seal the deal. And they ended up doing the exactly the same sealing the match by 110 runs courtesy a four-wicket haul from Sanjay Yadav. Nagaland started off rock-solid as the openers Aosashi Longchar (44) and Yogesh Takawale (21) held their ground for first 17 runs before the. Against batting lineup went down like a landslide. Wickets kept on falling in regular intervals before their entire team was bundled off within 181 runs to hand Meghalaya a 110 run win. Puneet Bisht of Meghalaya was chosen as the man of the match for his 125 in the first innings.
