U-23 Men’s State A Trophy Manipur off to flying start, thrash Arunachal Pradesh by 7 wickets

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Nov 9 : Manipur kicked off U-23 Men’s State A Trophy Plate Group campaign with a dominating 7-wicket win over Arunachal Pradesh at PCA New Cricket Stadium, Ground B, Chandigarh today.
Manipur won the toss and opted to field first before bundling out Arunachal Pradesh for a meagre total of 105 runs within 30.2 overs riding on a concerted effort from the bowlers. Manipur then cruised to the winning 108 within 20 overs with 7 wickets left to spare.
Amarjeet Sharma 41 off 60 (5 fours), Tado 27 off 28 (4 fours, 1 six) and T Jacob 10 off 11 (2 fours) were the leading run scorers for Arunachal Pradesh in the first innings that saw Md Aqeel Ahamed (2/37 in 10 overs), Sanjit (2/21 in 7 overs), and Kangujam Ringku (2/13 in 4.2 overs) sharing 6 wickets to keep their rivals under constant pressure. Kongbrailatpam Kalyan (1/5 in 4 overs) and Naorem Dibak (1/16 in 4 overs) also picked a wicket apiece in this innings.
In reply, Manipur lost Champion for the first wicket to Tana James on 6 as the scoreboard read 19 but Syed Hussain and Heisnam Manikanta forged a remarkable 70-run partnership off 66 deliveries to take Manipur to a sniffing distance of a win.
After Hussain was dismissed for the highest 43 off 38 balls (6 fours) by Loli Yangfo and Manikanta was undone by Leki Tsering on 35 off 54 balls (5 fours) for the second and third wickets, Vikash (13 off 11) and Rohit (3 off 11) produced an unbeaten fourth wicket partnership to steer Manipur to the winning 108.
Manipur will play Meghalaya in the next match on November 11 at IS Bindra Cricket Stadium, PCA, Mohali.