Dimapur: Nagaland has booked a semifinal berth in the maiden North East Cricket Development Committee (NECDC) Senior Men’s Inter-state Friendship Tournament by defeating Sikkim at Sovima Cricket Ground on Friday.
After winning the toss, Nagaland elected to bat first in the match that was reduced to 33 overs per side owing of soggy outfield, managed to score 183 runs, helped by 102 runs off 87 balls from captain Jonathan Rongsen, according to an update from Nagaland Cricket Association (NCA).
For Sikkim, Palzor Tamang led the pack by taking four crucial wickets, while Yong Lepcha took three. However, Rongsen’s century knock, helped by Sedezhalie Rupreo’s 24 runs, Tahmeed Rahman 14 and Hem Bahadur Chetri 13 put Nagaland in a strong position.
Needing 184 runs from 33 overs to win the match, Sikkim succumbed to pressure with opening trio of Pankaj Rawat, Arun Chettri and Nilesh Lamicha leaving the pitch for just 3, 2 and 6 runs respectively. Ankur Malik (30 runs), Anwesh (28 runs), Palzor Tamang (22 runs), Lee Yong Lepcha (18 runs), and Ashish Thapa (11 runs) put up a spirited fight, giving a glimpse of hope but it was not enough to reach the target.
Among the Nagaland bowlers, Nagaho Chishi, Tahmeed Rahman and Rongsen took two wickets apiece, while Khrievitso Kense and Hoponkyu Sangtam took one wicket each.
Rongsen was declared Man of the Match for his knock of 102 runs and two wickets.
With the win, Nagaland topped the Group-B and will take on Meghalaya in the semifinal.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]In another match played at Nagaland Cricket Stadium, Meghalaya, coming from a convincing win against Arunachal Pradesh by 8 wickets in the last match, chose to bat first against Manipur after winning the toss and put up a score of 178 runs on the board from 48.3 overs.
Arien Bonchang (55 runs) and Kishan Lyngdoh (37 runs) gave a good start to the team, while Anish Charak (17 runs), Lerry (13 runs), Sanvert B Kurkalang (12 runs) and Swarajeet (11 runs) also chipped in, posing a 179-run target for Manipur to win the match.
For the bowling side, Bisworjit Singh and Kishan Laishram took three wickets apiece, while Jotin Pheiroijam, Rajkumar Rex Singh and Bikash Singh picked up a wicket each to limit Meghalaya’s score.
Chasing a decent total, Manipur reached the target in 38.1 overs for loss of four wickets. Half century each from Md Basir Rahman and Langlonyamba, and contributions from other players -- Kamnajit Yumnam (19 runs), Longjam Ronald (11 runs), Jotin Pheiroijam (30 runs not out) and Md Sultan Karim (4 runs not out) – helped Manipur chase down the target comfortably.
Manipur skipper Langlonyamba was awarded the Man of the Match for knock of 50 runs.
With the win, Manipur are on top of Group-A, and will take on Sikkim in the semifinal.