Morung Express News
Dimapur | October 31
Good news for cricket fans in Nagaland. The state is set to hosts its debut first-class Indian cricket from November 1 at the Nagaland Cricket Stadium (NCA), Sovima, Dimapur.
While the Nagaland team played the maiden first-class cricket against Bihar in the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) Vijay Hazare Trophy (2018-19) in September, their game against Mizoram from November 1 to 4 packs more ‘strike rate’ as it is the ‘Ranji Trophy,’ the premier domestic first-class cricket championship. Teams representing regional and state associations, including Railways and Services vie for the championship.
Nagaland Cricket Association (NCA) will be hosting four Ranji matches, with the schedule running till January 2, 2019. After Mizoram, Nagaland will play Sikkim (Nov 12 to 15), Manipur (Dec 6 to 9) and Arunachal Pradesh (Dec 30 -Jan 2, 2019).
What is the Ranji Trophy?
The Ranji Trophy, in its 85th edition this year, is named after KS Ranjitsinhji, an Indian prince and the first Indian cricketer who played international cricket between 1896 and 1902.
Popularly known as “Ranji,” he played 15 Tests for England and introduced new strokes to the game, including the late cut and the leg glance, according to espncricinfo.com, a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket.
The Trophy was launched following a meeting of the Indian board in July 1934, and the competition began the following season with the first fixtures taking place in 1934– 35. Mumbai was the first and record 41-time winners, while Vidarbha is the defending champions.
New format
Till last season, there were only 28 teams, however, a record 37 teams will be participating in this edition of the tournament. Nine new teams - Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Sikkim and Uttarakhand are making their debuts in the 2018-19 season for the Trophy season that kicks off on November 1, reported cricbuzz.com, another sports news portal exclusively for cricket. The edition is due to the introduction of the Elite-Plate format this year.
The existing 28 teams have been divided into Elite Groups A, B [both having nine teams] and Elite Group C [10 teams], while the nine new teams are a part of the Plate Group, the Cricbuzz report said. Five teams from Elite Groups A and B combined, two teams from Elite Group C and one team from the Plate Group will qualify for the quarterfinal, which begins January 15, it added.
Plate Group table-toppers will also be promoted to Elite Group C in the next season while top-two teams that qualify for the quarterfinals from Elite Group C will earn a promotion to Elite Groups A and B in the next season.
Nagaland Team
The NCA, on October 30, also declared the Nagaland 16-member squad with Jonathan Rongsen as the captain. The other players are: Hokaito Zhimomi, Tahmeed Rahman, Mughavi Wotsa, Inakato Zhimomi, Imliwati Lemtur, Paras Sehrawat, Jalaluddin, Toni Chishi, Sedezhalie Rupreo, Nitesh Lochab, Santosh Mahato and Rachit Bhatia with KB Pawan (wicketkeeper), Abrar Kazi and Pawan Suyal as guest players.
According to the espncricinfo.com, while Jonathan, Nitesh and Hokaito were transferred from Railways, Delhi and Assam respectively, the 3 professionals are Kazi and Pawan from Karnataka and Suyal from Delhi.
Former Hyderabad cricketer Kanwaljit Singh is the head coach for Nagaland while other supporting staff includes Dinesh Suvarna (Trainer), Mowalong Kichu (Physio) and A Rahman (Manager).
Free Passes
Meanwhile, the Nagaland Chief Minister, Neiphiu Rio along with his Cabinet colleagues will witness the first match on November 1, which will kick off at 8:00 am after the inauguration of the new Player’s Pavilions by the Chief Minister. The NCA has earlier expressed optimism that it would be able to host the games at par with the other states and appealed to all cricket lovers to come and witness the first ever historic match.
The match is free for the spectators and public can enter from Gate No.2.
A commemorative function on the occasion of the historic inaugural Ranji Trophy match was also hosted by NCA at Naithu Resort, Dimapur on October 31.
