Nagaland and Manipur advance to semi-finals

1st NECDC Friendship cricket tournament

Chümoukedima, March 31 (MExN): Nagaland topped Group-B and advanced to the semi-finals of the 1st North East Cricket Development Committee Interstate Friendship Senior Men's Tournament after a thrilling 1-run victory over Sikkim in their last group game on March 31 at the Sovima Cricket Ground.

In a match that was reduced to 33 overs per side due to a soggy outfield, Nagaland won the toss and elected to bat first. The host team got off to a strong start with Captain Jonathan Rongsen leading from the front. Rongsen made a stunning knock of 102 runs off 87 balls, while Sedezhalie Rupreo, Tahmeed Rahman, and Hem Bahadur Chetri were the other notable runs. Nagaland set a target of 184 runs for Sikkim to chase down.

The bowling side’s Palzor Tamang had another great day of balling as he picked up 4 crucial wickets, while Lee Yong Lepcha also picked up 3 wickets restricting the run flow. 

In reply, Sikkim started off poorly, losing their opening trio of Pankaj Rawat, Arun Chettri, and Nilesh Lamicha for just 3, 2, and 6 runs, respectively. However, Ashish Thapa, Anwesh, Palzor Tamang, Lee Yong Lepcha, and Ankur Malik played sensibly, stitching important partnerships to bring Sikkim back into the game.

With a defiant middle order digging in, it looked like Sikkim was set on pulling off a spectacular come from behind win. However, Nagaland's spinners spun a victorious web claiming the wickets of Anwesh, Palzor Tamang, Lee Yong Lepcha and Ankur Malik. Nagaho Chishi, Tahmeed Rahman, and Jonathan Rongsen, took crucial wickets at key moments to bring the game back in Nagaland's favor. Sikkim fell short of just one run of the target, giving Nagaland the thrilling victory.

Nagaland's Jonathan Rongsen was the standout player of the match, scoring a century and also taking two wickets. Palzor Tamang was the pick of the bowlers for Sikkim, taking four wickets. In the semi-finals, Nagaland will face the runner-up of Group-A, Meghalaya, on April 1. 

In Group-A, Manipur topped the table defeating Meghalaya in the last group game. Meghalaya won the toss and opted to bat first, but could not replicate their previous match's performance as the Manipur bowlers kept them in check. Despite a flying start by Kishan Lyngdoh (37 runs) and Arien Bonchang (55 runs), Meghalaya could only manage to put up a total of 181 runs on the board. Bisworjit Singh and Kishan Laishram picked up 3 wickets each while Jotin Pheiroijam, Rajkumar Rex Singh, and Bikash Singh grabbed one wicket each to bundle out Meghalaya for 181 runs in 48.3 overs.

The Manipur batters started the run chase in a comfortable manner displaying dominance over the Meghalaya bowlers. Md Basir Rahman and Langlonyamba both completed their half-centuries, while Kamnajit Yumnam and Longjam Ronald contributed with 19 and 11 runs, respectively. Md Sultan Karim and Jotin Pheiroijam remained not out to take the Manipur team home and top the group table. They will play Sikkim, the runner-up of Group-B, in the semi-finals on April 1 at the Nagaland Cricket Stadium. Manipur captain Langlonyamba was awarded the man of the match for his 50 runs and excellent leadership in the field.