Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Manipur beat Arunachal Pradesh by 45 runs to post second win

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Jan 15 : Manipur, registered its second win in the plate group competition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy by beating Arunachal Pradesh by 45 runs at TI Cycles Ground, Chennai today.
Winning the toss, Manipur chose to bat first and posted a moderate target of 149 for 8 before bundling their rivals out at 104 in 19.2 overs.
Manipur lost openers Karnajit Yumnam (6) to Akhilesh Sahani and Narisingh Yadav (13) to Manvan Patel but Langlonyamba Meitankeis-hangbam and Nitesh Sedai set the momentum despite tremendous pressure exerted by Akhilesh Sahani and Techi Doria with pace and length.
Nitesh Sedai smashed three fours before departing on 21 (18 balls) to Doria who also removed topscorer Langlonyamba Meitankeisha-ngbam (29 off 18 balls).
Sagatpam Jayanta kept the scoreboard ticking by gathering 18 runs off 15 balls  and RK Rex stacked up another 21 by hitting a six and a four in 10 balls to help Manipur cross the 100 mark.
Ahmed Shah (6) who came out for the 7th wicket stand had his short stay before L Kishan Singha shone with an unbeaten 22 runs off 12 balls.
Thokchom Kishan got run out for 4 (2 balls) and Ajay Lamabam added another 4 to finish the innings with L Kishan Singha.
Akhilesh Sahani and Techi Doria claimed three wickets each in this innings as Manvan Patel claimed a single.
The chase of 150 for Arunachal Pradesh started on a shaky ground as Techi Dorian was run out on duck before skipper Neelam Obi departed on 9.
Rahul Dalal (29), Kamsho Yangfo (22) did tried to hold the ground but sustained bowling attack from Manipur bowlers squeezed Arunachal Pradesh to 104 all out in 19.4 overs as Bishworjit claimed the last wicket after removing Kamsha Yangfo earlier to finish with the best bowling figure for Manipur (3.2-0-12-2). Rex, Kishan, Ajay Lamabam and L Kishan Singha claimed a wicket each in this innings besides maintaining good economy to help Manipur earn second win.
Manipur will play Bihar in the next match on Jan 17.
Brief Scores
Manipur 149/8 (Langlonyamba 29, L Kishan Singha 22; A Sahani 3-30, Techi Doria 3-29) beat Arunachal Pradesh 104 all out in 19.4 overs (Rahul Dalal 29; Bishworjit Konthoujam 2-12).