Vijay Hazare Trophy Plate Ph Jotin blazes unbeaten 101 as Manipur beat Nagaland by 1 wicket in final over thriller

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Dec 24 : Pheiroijam Jotin anchored with an unbeaten ton to help Manipur scrap past Nagaland by 1 wicket with just a ball left to spare in a nail-biting first Vijay Hazare Trophy Plate Group match at Usha Martin Ground in Ranchi today.
The list-A match saw Nagaland, who were asked to bat first, getting dismissed for 237 runs with Meitankeishangbam Langlonyamba, Johnson and Bishworjit wreaking havoc across their line up.
Despite the meagre total, Nagaland were on the course of a win with R Jonathan, Akavi, and Dip Borah making inroads regularly but before Jotin, who came in at number 7, produced a whirlwind knock of 77-ball 101 laden with 7 fours and 7 sixes not to only revive the chase but also take Manipur to the winning 241 with a wicket and a ball left to spare.
Nagaland faced stiff opposition early on and were reduced to 5/1 in 2.3 overs as Manipur skipper and pacer Bishworjit undone Nischal D on a 5-ball 1.
Opener Joshua however held his nerve to keep the innings very much intact by forging an 82-run partnership with Sedezhale but he was caught and bowled by Lamabam Ajay  on a 65-ball 74 for the second wicket in the 17th over.
His departure marked their turnaround as Johnson and Langlonyamba spun web around the incoming batters to share 6 wickets including Hem 32 off 57 and leave Nagaland struggling at 169/8 in 37.4 overs.
Star of the day Pheiroijam Jotin then bowled Ronit More on a 20-ball 30 for the 9th wicket in the 46th over before Bishworjit returned to action and cut short Nagaland innings at 237 by removing Akavi on 28.
In reply, Manipur also did not have best of the start and slumped to 109/6 in 28.4 overs despite Khwairakpam Ulenyai 47 off 65 balls (6 fours) and Al Bashid 22 off 54 gathering 59 runs for the second wicket stand as Akabi and R Jonathan were brilliant with the ball and shared four wickets. After seeing Langlonyamba depart on a 14-ball 13 for the 6th wicket, Jotin and Bidash gave Manipur a sigh of relief by stitching 68-runs off 70 balls until Bidash was bowled out by Dip Borah for the 7 wicket. Jotin also saw incoming Kishan Singha 5 off 14 and Ajay 3 off 5 to Akavi and Jonathan.
From 206/9 in 45.4 overs, Jotin kept his cool to hold things together with Bishworjit and gathered 35 runs off 25 balls to settle the issue. The situation was so tense that Manipur needed 9 runs off 6 deliveries but Jotin held his nerve to add 6 runs in the first four deliveries to close in on the target before hitting death over specialist Akavi for a six in the fifth delivery to seal the win.
Akavi was the pick of the Nagaland bowlers as he returned with 3/47 in 9.5 overs as R Jonathan (3/52 in 10 overs) and Dip Borah (2/36 in 10 overs) followed suit.
Jotin was eventually adjudged player of the match.
Manipur will play Bihar in the next match on December 26 at JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi.