Shillong, November 19: Meghalaya and Manipur’s Ranji Trophy 2025-26 plate group match ended in a draw today but not before guest player Rahul Dalal lit up the stadium in Surat with a second century in the match.
Resuming their second innings on 49/1, Meghalaya declared on 239/4, setting an unlikely target of 328 to win, which Manipur had no intention of going after; they ended play on 72/1. To recap, Meghalaya made 430 all out in their first innings to which Manipur responded with 342. That gave Meghalaya a first innings lead of 88 runs and 3 points.
Meghalaya ended the Ranji Trophy unbeaten this year but bad weather and a waterlogged outfield cost them a win or two. Instead they finished with one victory (against Arunachal Pradesh), three draws (against Manipur, Bihar and Sikkim) and one no result (against Mizoram).
Nevertheless, they came very close to qualifying for the plate group final and Elite Group status next season. However, Bihar’s sensational chase in Patna against Mizoram today saw them finish in second place in the points table. Needing 248 to win with just 30 overs remaining in the day, Bihar smashed 251/3 in 27.4 overs to claim 6 points. Meghalaya rued Mizoram’s decision to declare their second innings with Meghalaya Cricket Association President Nababrata Bhattacharjee calling it “most baffling to say the least” and “defying all cricketing logic”.
In the end, Manipur topped the group with 18 points, Bihar netted 16 and Meghalaya were third with 15.
Today, Rahul, who made 151 in the first innings, made another century, finishing on 103 not out from 131 deliveries (11x4s, 1×6). Kishan Lyngdoh also looked good for triple figures but was dismissed for 76 (123 balls, 8x4s, 1×6).
There were plenty of memorable moments for Meghalaya’s players this year – two double centuries by Arpit Bhatewara against Arunachal and Sikkim; three tons for Rahul and two each for fellow guest player Ajay Duhan and Kishan – but the one that went down in history was Akash Chaudhary’s blistering 50 from 11 balls against Arunachal, which was the fastest half-century in first-class history, the first time that a batter hit eight sixes in a row and only the third time a batter hit six sixes in a first-class over.
The fast bowler was also joint fourth in the bowling department with 14 wickets to his credit, including a five-wicket haul (his third in first-class cricket) against Sikkim, while young Aryan Borah was in the Top 10 with 11 scalps.
