Shillong, November 24 : Nagaland took control of their U-19 men’s Cooch Behar Trophy match against Meghalaya on the first day, posting a solid score of 241/9 at the MCA Ground in Polo, Shillong.
Meghalaya won the toss and elected to bowl first, but Nagaland’s openers, Jesevilie Dzeyie (19) and Vishal Sahani (32), got them off to a good start, putting on a partnership of 56. However, both openers were dismissed in quick succession, with Sahani run out and Dzeyie bowled by Da-u-la-biang Shangpliang.
Despite the loss of their openers, Nagaland continued to bat well, reaching lunch at 77/2. After the break, they accelerated their scoring, adding 86 runs for the third wicket before Yugandhar was dismissed for 35.
Seyievizo Zaputou and Samir Ali then put on a 95-run partnership for the fourth wicket to further consolidate Nagaland’s position. Ali was eventually dismissed for 64 by Charm Marbaniang, but Zaputou continued to bat well, reaching 44 before being dismissed by Angkit Tamang.
In the final session of the day, Meghalaya’s bowlers struck back, taking six wickets for 25 runs to reduce Nagaland to 241/9. Kishlay Vishlux was the pick of the bowlers, taking 2/19 in 6 overs, while Charm Marbaniang and Da-u-la-biang Shangpliang both chipped in with two wickets each.
Nagaland will be relatively happy with their performance on the first day, but they will be aware that they need to bat carefully tomorrow to avoid being bowled out cheaply. Meghalaya, on the other hand, will be pleased with their late fightback, but they will need to take the remaining wickets quickly if they are to have any chance of winning the match.
