Shillong, November 10: An all-round effort led Meghalaya to a 93-run victory against Sikkim in their opening U-23 men’s State A Trophy 2025-26 plate group one day match in Ropar, Punjab, on Saturday.
Sikkim won the toss and fielded first but Meghalaya posted 252 all out in 49.4 overs, to which Sikkim could only respond with 159/10 in 38.1 overs.
The first three Meghalaya batters all got into the 40s but could not get a big score. The top scorer was Dipankar Baruah, with the opener making a rapid 47 from 35 balls in an innings that included seven fours and two sixes. His partner Sachin Kumar struck 43 from 60 (8x4s) and Josiah Momin 41 from 63 (6x4s). Together, Dipankar and Sachin put on 86 for the first wicket.
Manish Sharma, the team captain, also made a handy 38 from 32 deliveries (4x4s, 1×6) in the middle order, while Sikkim’s Siddarth had the best bowling figures of 5/32 in 5.4 overs.
Left-arm orthodox spinner Manish then claimed 3/28 in 10 overs as Sikkim struggled to build any real momentum with the bat. Denikcheng Marak (2/16 in 5 overs), Shavian Blah (2/25 in 4.1) and Sachin (2/28 in 8) were the other wicket-takers for Meghalaya.
After this positive start, Meghalaya will face Manipur in their second match on Tuesday in Mohali. Manipur also won their first game, against Arunachal Pradesh by seven wickets, on Saturday.
