Mokokchung, November 26 (MExN): As a curtain raiser to the Silver Jubilee celebration of the Mokokchung District Cricket Association, a ‘promotional & exhibition’ cricket match was played between Mokokchung DC XI and MDCA XI here today at the Imkongmeren Sports Coplex under the theme ‘Instilling Aspirations’. The DC XI team captained by the DC Sushil Kumar won the toss and elected to bat first in the match that was played in the T20 format. Mokokchung DC Sushil Kumar Patel and SDO (C) Sachin walked in to open the innings for DC XI and set the course for their team’s formidable total of 131 runs for the loss of 8 wickets. The openers amassed 33 runs before Sachin departed for 6 runs. DC XI lost a couple of wickets in quick succession following Sachin’s departure from the crease but the run rate remained steady. At the close of the innings, DC XI notched up 131 runs that eventually proved to be enough to script a win for the DC XI team. Among and Sushil were the leading run scorers for the DC XI with 29 runs and 27 runs respectively. In reply, MDCA XI led by senior player Talikaba started off with a nightmarish start as they lost both the opening pair in the second over of the innings. Merencheba’s scored 56 runs for MDCA XI, the highest individual score of the match, but his heroics was not enough to take his tea home as MDCA XI fell shy of the total by 12 runs. MDCA XI managed to score only 119 runs for the loss of 5 wickets. Merenchemba of MDCA XI and Sushil Kumar of DC XI were adjudged joint players of the match. Earlier in the morning, Mokokchung DC Suchil Kumar while speaking at the pre-match introduction said that cricket, along with other sports, need to be earnestly promoted in the region and appreciated the MDCA for promoting the sport in the district. He also said that cricket is one discipline of sport with immense scope for talented and passionate young people, adding that cricket can be pursued as a career option as it offers scope for livelihood and income generation today even at the domestic level, if not international. MDCA president Er.C hubatoshi meanwhile thanked the Mokokchung district administration led by the Deputy Commissioner for assisting MDCA in the promotion of the game. Saying that Naga cricket is at a nascent stage, he considered it a matter of pride to have a player from Mokokchung in Jonathan Longkumer making his forays in the national level cricket arena and hoped that many more young players would make it to the top in the near future. MDCA will be playing similar ‘promotional & exhibition’ matches around the district as a prelude to its silver jubilee celebration in early January next. On December 2, MDCA XI will face off against Mangkolemba ADC XI followed by a match against Changtongya SDO XI on December 6 and Tuli ADC XI on December 10.
